


A Captain's Pearl

by SuperPsych99



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Abusive Parent, Because she got taken by the curse and Hook didn't, Bisexual Female Character, But she doesn't affect the overall outcome that much, Captain Swan is the best, F/F, F/M, Follows canon pretty closely, Gen, He loves his daughter so much, Her cursed dad is a random enchanted forest guy, His daughter got swept up by the curse, Killian Jones is a dad, Killian would be a great dad, Mostly Canon Compliant, Not Hook though, Parent Captain Hook | Killian Jones, She's just here for the ride, They have the cutest relationship guys, all canon ships, except for Hook having a daughter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26884249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperPsych99/pseuds/SuperPsych99
Summary: Meagan Jones is the daughter of Killian Jones-or as he is more well known as- feared pirate Captain Hook. They're all each other really has. But she gets swept up by an evil curse, where they are separated and she forgets who she is. When the curse is finally broken and they are reunited, what will happen?  *Mostly Canon compliant, follows the show's storyline (with some minor additions and changes).
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones & Original Female Character(s), Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan, Emma Swan & Original Female Character(s), Henry Mills & Emma Swan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time) & Original Female Character(s), Red Riding Hood | Ruby & Original Character(s)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic on here so I really hope you enjoy it! I love this show, I love Captain Hook, and Captain Swan. And I've had this idea swirling around in my head for a long time-what if Killian had a daughter? I just always thought he would be a great dad and how cute him having a daughter would be-thus this fanfic came to life! This will mostly follow canon, with some changes and additions that of course come with an OC. So, that means we unfortunately won't see Killian for a little bit as he's not in season 1, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway! Now- on to the fic!

I woke up like I did every single morning, staring blankly at my plain white walls. Well, not even really white-more like cream or off-white. I sighed at the dirty walls and groaned as I got out of bed, my body sore and aching. Although that was expected after last night. I quickly got into the shower, making sure to wash all remnants of blood off of me. I had been too tired to do it last night. Once I was sure I had gotten what I could off, I pulled on my jeans and my favorite sweatshirt to cover my arms. The sweatshirt was old and ratty, but I’ve had it forever, and it was a source of comfort for me. I snuck down the stairs quietly and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that my dad had passed out cold on the couch. He could really hold his liquor, so for him to pass out he must have had a really bad night, and drunk a hell of a lot. Fine by me. I wouldn’t have to deal with him this morning. I glanced through the cabinets, trying to find something to eat, my stomach rumbling loudly when I found nothing. Of course, why would I be surprised. There was never anything to eat here. Once again I was going to school hungry. I grabbed my backpack and trudged out the door, starting the walk to school.

As I walked, I passed sights I saw everyday. Leroy and the others whistling as they went to work in the mines, Sheriff Graham doing his morning patrol, Mr. Gold opening his pawn shop awaiting customers he can swindle into an unfair deal, Archie-the town therapist- walking his dog and cheerfully saying hi to everyone he sees. Maybe if I were brave enough I would go to him one day. I passed Granny’s Dinner and heard Granny and Ruby arguing-again. They argued all of the time. Granny wanted her granddaughter to stay in town and work in the dinner, but Ruby wanted something different. She wanted out of this town-to go somewhere like New York and Boston. Somewhere exciting, somewhere that certainly wasn’t our tiny little town. And I completely understand that. I felt the same. I wanted to get out of this town, out of my life, away from all the pain being here brought me. And Ruby was the only one who really understood that. I waved to her as I passed by, once they stopped arguing. She smiled brightly at me and waved back, struggling to not drop her tray with one hand  
“Hey, Meagan! Coming by today after school?” She called.  
“You know it!” I say back. I didn’t like to spend a lot of time at home, so Granny’s had become sort of a safe haven for me. I would do homework here, sometimes help out. Being twelve, I wasn’t old enough to work, but if I helped Granny and Ruby out, they would give me free food. I think they suspected that something was going on with me, but they didn’t ask and I didn’t tell. And it was the same everyday. Nothing ever changed in this town. Not the scenery, or the residents, or me, and certainly not my father.  
I walked through the crisp fall air until I arrived at Storybrooke School. I went into my classroom, Miss Blanchard giving me a smile as I sat down quietly. I was a quiet student, hardly ever talked, and Miss Blanchard seemed to understand that, never forcing me to talk if I didn’t want to. And I deeply appreciated it. Pulling out my materials, I noticed that Henry wasn’t here, which was odd. Henry was the ten year old son of the Mayor,Regina Mills. Now Regina Mills was a bitch. A cold-hearted bitch, who took pleasure in ordering around others and always got what she wanted. She was strict and didn’t seem like she cared about really anyone- except maybe her son. Which deeply contrasted Henry. Henry seemed really kind, smart, and creative. But he was lonely. Like me. We weren’t really friends (I couldn’t afford to have those), but we would talk sometimes, and I did care about him a little bit. He really loved school and learning, so he must be really sick if he wasn’t here.  
Miss Blanchard called out to get our attention, breaking me out of my thoughts. I shook off my worry and engrossed myself in learning. I actually really enjoyed school. It got me away from my dad, and it was always interesting to learn new things.  
Miss Blanchard was finishing up a lesson about different bird species when the bell rang for the end of the day.  
“Alright, we’ll pick this up tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of your day!” She says, and the rest of the class files out quickly. I pack up my stuff and start to walk out, when Miss Blanchard calls my name. I turn around and face her, a concerned expression on her face. “Are you alright, Meagan? You seemed a little out of it today?” She asks kindly.  
“Um-yeah, I’m alright. I was just worried because I didn’t see Henry today, that’s all.” I replied. Usually adults made me nervous, but she was so nice that it comforted me.  
“Oh, that’s so sweet of you, Meagan. I’m sure he’s alright, probably just sick or something.”  
“Yeah-I’m sure that’s it. Thanks Miss Blanchard,” I turn away once more, but her hand touches my shoulder and I nearly jump a mile in the air, flinching away.  
“Oh- I’m sorry! Are you sure you’re alright? You seem very jumpy lately.” She’s giving me this look that just makes me want to panic. _Don’t look at me like that. There’s nothing wrong, I’m fine._  
“You just surprised me- that’s all. Look, I gotta...go.” and with that I dashed out of the classroom. It was then that I realized in my mad dash I had forgotten my backpack. _Damn it, I really don’t want to have to go back to that awkward situation._ I gathered up my courage and made my way back toward the classroom. I was about to walk inside, when I heard a voice that made me stop. Mayor Mills, what is she doing here? I backed up against the wall and leaned, peeking in the doorway to get a better look. Miss Blanchard was talking with Mayor Mills and a blonde-haired woman who I’ve never seen before in my life. _A newcomer? That’s impossible, no one new ever comes here_. I was instantly curious, and leaned in closer to try and hear what they were saying.  
“You don’t know anything about this, do you?” the blonde-haired woman asks. _Know anything about what?_  
“No, unfortunately not,” Miss Blanchard replies, searching through her purse, stopping when she gets to her wallet “Clever boy. I should have never given him that book.”  
“What the hell is this book I keep hearing about?” Mayor Mills voices my internal question.  
“Just some old stories I gave him. As you well know, Henry is a special boy, so smart, so creative; and as you might be aware, lonely. He needed it.”  
“Well what he needs is a dose of reality. This is a waste of my time,” She then turns to the blonde “Have a nice trip back to Boston.” and curtly walks out of the room. _Crap, she’s going to see me!_ I realized and darted back down the hallway, deciding to forgo my backpack and get it tomorrow instead. _What was just happening? What’s this book she was talking about? Where’s Henry? And who was that blonde woman?_ I needed to go see Ruby, she always had the town gossip.  
…  
“Dinner and hot chocolate on the house,” Granny announced, setting a plate of delicious food in front of me. My stomach rumbled with glee, finally getting food today.  
“Granny, you are too good to me,” I moaned, already reaching for the food. She’ll never know how much I appreciate this.  
“Anything for my girl! You help out an awful lot around here. Besides, you need to eat more, you are way too skinny,” she hummed and shook her head, pursing her lips.  
“Leave the poor girl alone, Granny,” Ruby sighed, coming up next to her grandma and sitting down across from me in the booth.  
“Oh, just let me fuss over someone,” Granny gives me a smile and goes to check on the other customers. Ruby and I glanced at each other and giggled, as I started digging into my food.  
“So, Ruby, I need some gossip,” I say after a few moments of silence, setting down my sandwich.  
“You know I always have it. What do you need?” She sets her chin on her palm, leaning on the table, looking at me inquisitively.  
“Do you know anything about that blonde-haired woman that came into town?” I ask, taking a sip of my hot chocolate.  
“Ohhhh, Emma? You want to know about Emma? Well, she’s Henry’s birth mom.” At that I spit out my drink.  
“What?” I couldn’t believe it. I mean everyone knows that Henry was adopted, but his birth mom, here? “Why is she here?”  
“Apparently, Henry went and found her himself.”  
“HE WHAT?” I shouted, causing everyone to look at me. I blushed and lowered my voice “He what?”  
“Yeah, he stole Mary Margaret Blanchard’s credit card and booked a bus to Boston, and just went up and rang her doorbell, all like ‘i’m your son’. It’s unbelievable. Can’t believe a 10 year old went on a trip out of town before me,” Ruby muttered that last part a little bitterly. I just- I couldn’t believe it. _So that’s what was going on in the classroom. That’s what they were talking about._  
“I just- Shit, man I can’t believe it.”  
“Hey, language!” Granny reprimands as she passes by our table.  
“Sorry, Granny,” I apologize sheepishly, and Ruby laughs, flipping her long dark brown hair back.  
“Don’t worry, I had the same reaction as you. It’s literally the most exciting thing that has happened in this town,” She huffs “Apparently she’s already gotten into trouble.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I guess she tried to leave town last night, but ended up crashing her car and spent the night in jail!”  
“Damn, she is making quite the impression.”  
“I know! And who do you think hates that?” Ruby smirked gleefully at me.  
“Ha, Mayor Mills of course.”  
“Oh, yeah. I heard her tell Emma that she wants her out of this town as soon as possible.”  
“Now I’m kind of hoping she stays just to piss Regina off,” I muttered into my mug, as Ruby snorted out a laugh. I knew she agreed with me. She disliked Regina as much as I did, although to be fair, hardly anyone really liked the Mayor.  
I glanced over at the clock, and groaned when I realized that it was almost 7-which means my dad would be home soon.  
“I have to go, Rubs, but thanks for the gossip and for dinner.” I say and climb out of the booth.  
“Anytime, Meg, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she gives me a quick hug and goes to clean off the table. On my way back home, I pass by the park and see the blonde-Emma-with Henry. They’re smiling and Henry’s clutching something in his hands, Probably the supposed book. They walk right past me and Henry gives a little wave before turning back and talking animatedly with his birth mom. It’s a happy sight, and makes me smile, despite what I’m about to face. I’m glad that Henry is happy.  
…  
The light filters into my room, and once again I’m awake. I once again take a quick shower, although there’s no blood this time. Surprisingly, last night was a relatively calm night. I walk down the stairs and see that my dad isn’t here. He must have left for work early. I shrug and pad towards the door, knowing there’s no point in looking for food. I started my walk to school, passing Granny’s on the way, although no one was there. Which was weird. I glanced around and saw Ruby exit from the bed and breakfast. Oh, by the way, Granny also had a bed and breakfast.  
“Oh, Meagan! Hot gossip!” Ruby gushed and rushed over to me “Emma is staying here.”  
“What?”  
“She just booked a room! She’s gonna stay here for a while! Man, I can’t wait to see Regina’s face when she finds out. See you after school!” She happily skips off toward the diner, and I walk again, taking a minute to process the news. I don’t know why, but something felt different after hearing that news. As I passed the boarded up library and clocktower, I looked up. And what I saw made me stop in my tracks. The clock on the clocktower, the clock that hadn’t worked for as long as I've remembered-had started working again. Almost as if by magic.  
Change was coming. I wasn’t sure what, how, why, where, or when, but it was coming. I could feel it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, here's chapter 2! I hope you enjoy!  
> TW: Mentions of Abuse

Things were different ever since Emma had arrived. Not big differences, but subtle ones that I noticed as they kept happening. People taking different routes on their morning walks, more people coming into the diner, people gathering towards the clock tower to see the clock finally move. Some people seemed to be more outward toward their dislike of Mayor Mills. Especially weird was that on my way to school, I saw Sheriff Graham going in the diner instead of on patrol. He seemed to be taking a liking to Emma, going in there to talk to her. Speaking of Emma, the biggest change was that she was seen walking Henry to school in the mornings.  _ Ha, bet Regina loves that  _ I mused. 

Things seemed to be a little different at home as well. My dad wasn’t home as frequently, and it was calmer when he was. Last night, instead of it ending bloody, all I got was a shove and him muttering “worthless”. It was nice not to have bruises the next day. 

Emma had only been here a few days and she was already making the paper. Regina had had an article written about Emma’s car accident, claiming she had been drunk, clearly trying to portray her in a bad light. Emma had then cut down Regina’s apple tree in retaliation. It was an intense show off, and surprised everyone. Nothing this dramatic had ever happened here. Unfortunately, despite Ruby and I’s plea to give her a chance, Granny had kicked Emma out of the inn due to the ‘tree incident’, claiming there was a no-felons policy. I hoped she could find a new place to stay other than her car. 

I was hanging out in the diner one night, when I saw Miss Blanchard enter, looking nicer than usual. 

“Mary-Margaret, looking fancy. What’s up with that?” Ruby teased as she came up to the counter. Ruby and her were pretty good friends, and Ruby always liked to tease her friends. 

“I have a date,” Miss Blanchard states “Oh, hello Meagan,” she says once her eyes land on me. 

“Ooo a date, with who?” Ruby gushes at the same time I reply “Hi, Miss Blanchard.” Ruby’s question got answered when Dr.Whale walked up to us. 

“Hey, glad you’re here,” he says, giving a little smirk. 

“Let’s sit down. It was nice seeing you, Meagan,” Miss Blanchard leads him away from us and towards a table. 

“Wow, Dr.Whale, didn’t see that coming,” I muttered, tilting my head to the side. 

“Really? I’m not surprised. She spends a lot of time volunteering at that hospital.” Ruby replies, shrugging casually. 

“True. I guess it’s just weird to think about your teacher dating, that’s all.” 

“Ha, I guess it would be. Well, I got to get back to my job. You do your homework.” 

“Okay, mom,” I stuck my tongue out at her and Ruby smirks, walking away. I focus in on my homework, the bustling noise of the diner fading away as I start writing. It’s about half an hour later when Ruby comes back to me, pulling me out of my focus. She looked irritated. 

“Ugh, Dr. Whale is the worst!” She rants, angrily cleaning off the counter. 

“What did he do?” 

“I caught him staring at my ass multiple times, ignoring Mary Margaret while he was doing it. She deserves so much better.” I nodded in agreement, noticing that they were both gone from the diner. She must have cut the date short, good for her. Not that I was surprised, he never seemed like the nicest of people. “Hey, if you see him tomorrow, will you give me a punch from me?” Our class was going to the hospital tomorrow to help out the patients as a volunteer project. 

“I will not,” I say, hopping down from the stool “But you can.” Ruby gave me a playful shove as I left the diner. 

…

I finished the final stroke on the Get Well poster, putting down the brush to let it dry. We were putting up decorations, hoping it would cheer up the patients. Luckily there had not been any sightings of Dr.Whale, of which Miss Blanchard seemed to be happy about. I went to throw out some of the leftover materials, stopping when I saw Henry in the coma guy’s room. Coma guy had been here for as long as we all could remember. No one had come to claim him, so he was just known as John Doe. He just sat laid there in a coma, no one ever visited him except for Miss Blanchard. It was very sad.  _ Did he not have any family or did his family just not want him?  _ It gave me a lot to think about.  _ If that happened to me, would my dad claim me? Although, chances are he’d be the reason I’d end up in the hospital.  _

“Henry, what are you doing?” I whispered, stepping cautiously inside the room “I don’t think we’re supposed to be in here.” He turns toward me, looking a little forlorn. 

“He looked lonely, I thought someone should sit with him. C’mon.” He waved me to sit next to him. 

“Henry- I don’t know if we should..”

“I heard that talking to coma patients helps them. That they can hear us talking. Maybe it’ll help him wake up.” I couldn’t help but sit down after that. Henry was smart and it seemed like a really sweet thing that he wanted to do. So I sat next to him and looked at the coma guy. “Hey, Mr. Doe,” he cheerfully started “My name’s Henry Mills, and this is my friend Meagan.” My heart jumped a little at friends, but I quickly shook it off.  _ No, not friends, you can’t have any of those.  _ “We go to Storybrooke school, and we’re in Miss Blanchards class. She’s the one that’s been visiting you. She’s really nice, I think you would like her.” I smile at Henry’s innocent comments.  _ Ah to have that innocence.  _

“What are you two doing in here?” I jump at the sound of Miss Blanchard’s voice. 

“We just wanted to talk to Mr.Doe , since no one’s come to visit him.” Henry says quickly. 

“Well that’s very sweet, Henry. But his name isn’t John Doe. That’s just what they call people when they don’t know who they are.” 

“Do  _ you  _ know who he is?” Henry asks, emphasizing the question. That made me confused. What was he trying to insinuate?

“No, I just bring him flowers on my rounds. I don’t know who he is. No one has come to claim him.” She replies sadly. 

“So he’s all alone?” 

“Yeah-it’s quite sad.” 

“Are you sure you don’t know him?” He asks again. I glance at him questioningly.  _ What is Henry doing? He’s acting suspicious.  _

“Course I’m sure. Come in, you two shouldn’t be here.” She motions for us to follow her and we do. I take one last look at John Doe before catching up to Henry. 

“What was that all about?” I ask him. He just looks at me and winks conspiratorially before running off. All I could think was,  _ well that was weird.  _

…

I’m once again sitting in the diner when Henry comes running in, glancing around frantically. He spots me and comes running over, nearly tripping over a stool. 

“Jesus, Henry, what’s up?” I ask, giving him a concerned look. 

“He woke up! Coma guy woke up!” He exclaims

“What? He did? Is he okay-do they know who he is?” 

“No, he disappeared! He just got up and walked into the woods!” My jaw dropped in shock. How could a recently woken up from a coma patient get up and just walk out of the hospital? “They’re out looking for him right now. I’m not supposed to go and help, but I need to, and you’re coming with me.” He tugs my arm before I can even think about what he just said. 

“Henry- what-why me?” I spluttered, trying to get out of his grasp. 

“Because, you were with me. Maybe he’ll remember us talking to him! C’mon, Meagan, aren’t you the least bit curious?” He laments, and I hate that he’s right. I am curious. Something is going on here, and I want to find out. I sighed and Henry took that as a yes, and dragged me out of the diner. We ran through the woods, Henry leading the way. 

“Where are we going?” 

“We need to find my mom and Miss Blanchard.” 

“Why?”

“I think John Doe is looking for Miss Blanchard.” 

“Why would he be looking for her?” 

“Because he knows her.” 

“What do you mean? How does he know her?” 

“I don’t have time to explain that right now, come on.” He pulled me faster and we ran through the trees, as I struggled not to trip over branches. Suddenly we heard voices up ahead, and stopped, hiding behind a tree. We had caught up to Emma, Miss Blanchard, and Sheriff Graham. 

“Depends on who you ask.” We heard Emma say and we take a step closer, only for Henry to step on a branch-making a loud crack. I wince as the three of them whip around to find us. 

“Henry! Meagan!” 

“Did you find him yet?” He asks 

“No, not yet. You shouldn’t be...who are you?” Emma asks once she sees me. 

“This is Meagan, she’s a friend. She was there with me when I visited the coma guy. I thought she could help.” 

“Henry-“ Emma lets out an exasperated sigh. 

“I can help! I know what he’s looking for! He’s looking for you!” He points to Miss Blanchard. 

…

“You’re the one that woke him up! You’re the last one he saw!” Henry was trying to explain to Miss Blanchard as we trudged through the woods. I blocked out the conversation as I started looking around, going off in another direction. Looking for anything that could lead us to our mystery man. I was stepping through some entangled vines, when I tripped almost falling into thorns, when I felt an arm catch me. I gasped and stumbled back, two arms catching me. I flinched and stepped out the person's grasp. I turned around and saw Sheriff Graham standing there. He was still holding my arm. 

“Thanks,” I muttered, brushing off my clothes. 

“What’s that?” Sheriff Graham asks, sounding concerned, his gaze pointed elsewhere. I follow his gaze and see that he’s looking at my arm. My sleeve had come up and was showing the bruises my father had given me when he grabbed me last night. 

“Nothing!” I say, hurriedly pulling my hand away and pulling down my sleeve “It’s nothing, just an accident.” The sheriff seemed like he didn’t believe me, but before he could say anything, Emma called out to us. 

“Guys! Look!” We ran back to the rest of the group and saw what Emma was pointing at.

“Is that?” 

“Blood.” We started following the trail of blood until we ended up at the toll bridge over the river. 

“Oh my god!” Miss Blanchard gasped and we saw him. He was lying at the water line, unconscious and bleeding. She raced over to him with the sheriff and Emma, dragging him to the shore. Miss Blanchard started CPR, while Emma hugged Henry close to her and told him not to look. I stood behind them and watched in fear as she continued giving him breath. I prayed for him to live. I had never seen a man die before. Suddenly, he gasps for air and starts coughing erratically. He says something to Miss Blanchard that I can’t quite make out, but I’m just relieved that he’s alive. 

“She did it! She woke him up!” Henry cries and I’m impressed that he ended up being right. 

“Yeah, kid, yeah she did.” Emma hugs him closer. 

“Who are you?” Miss Blanchard asks, brushing his hair away from his face. He glances up at her, a seemingly lost look in his eye. 

“I don’t know.”

…

  
  


I walked home from the hospital that night, trying to decipher what a crazy night it had been. After finding amnesia guy (formerly known as coma guy), we took him back to the hospital, where a woman none of us had ever seen before ran in, claiming to be his wife. And that his name was David Nolan. She claimed that they were having marriage problems and he had left one night and not returned, that she didn’t even know he was here until now. Until Regina told her.  _ Of course it was Regina. If anything is ever oh-so convenient, it’s Regina.  _ I didn’t know how much I bought that story. Emma didn’t seem to buy it either. 

Of course Regina had shown up herself to confirm the story. Luckily it hadn’t seemed that she had noticed me. Which was usual. I was pretty much invisible to her-to a lot of people. 

“You should go, Meagan,” Henry had whispered after being yelled at by his mom- Regina, not Emma “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble for me dragging you along. Thanks for coming by the way.” I nodded and gave him a smile before making my way out of the hospital. 

I opened my front door very quietly, and managed to shut it without making a sound.  _ I hope he’s asleep already.  _ Unfortunately, luck was not on my side at the moment. 

“Where the fuck were you?” My dad snarled, staggering into the living room. He was clearly drunk enough to be angry, but not drunk enough to be clumsy. The most dangerous kind. 

“I was just-out,” I nervously backed up against the door, dreading what was about to come. 

“No fucking shit you were ‘out’. I asked you where! Why weren’t you home?” He shouted, not caring how loud it was. It’s not like we had neighbors. 

“A patient from the hospital went missing, and there was a town wide search for him.” The lie rolled off my tongue easily. 

“I didn’t hear anything about a town wide search.” 

“Maybe you were too drunk off your ass to care.” I muttered, regretting the words when I heard him growl. 

“What the fuck did you say to me?” He came right up to my face, putting his hands against the door, trapping me “you know I don’t take kindly to your attitude.” He reached his hand back and swung it. But before he could hit me, I ducked and rolled out from under him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He turned to face me. 

“Wait-stop! I think you might wanna listen to this.” He stops for a second, and I don’t know where my courage comes from, but I somehow speak up “You might not want to leave bruises anywhere people can see.” 

“Oh yeah, why’s that?” 

“I was with the sheriff tonight. He saw the bruises on my wrist. There’s a good chance he might suspect something. If he sees more bruises on me tomorrow, he could start an investigation. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?” If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I even believe what I’m saying. The chances of him finding out and doing anything about it are slim, but my dad doesn’t have to know that. All my dad does after that is growl, mumble some curse words, and shove me out of the way to get to the couch. I smile at my victory. It may only last for a day or two, but for now, it’s a win. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright that's the chapter! If I'm being honest, I didn't intend to write a whole chapter on episode 3, and fully intended to get further, but then this chapter got longer and longer, so I had to stop it here. I have some time tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get chapter 3 written, but no promises. Also, if anyone thinks Meagan is being a little to cavalier about her abuse, it's because at this point, she's been going through this for so long, she's kind of accepted that this is her life and that it can't change. But I promise as we get further into the fic, and once more things start to happen, and once the curse breaks- she will be dealing with repercussions, such as PTSD, and it will affect her throughout the fic. And it will be something that her and Killian will have to deal with. That's all, hope to post again soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3!   
> TW: Mentions of Abuse

Things had been interesting since coma guy-I mean David- had woken up. The whole town had gone into a frenzy, it seemed like a lot of things were changing. Emma was now living with Miss Blanchard-of which she didn’t really talk about (even though we asked her about it). And despite Regina banning Emma from seeing Henry, she still walked him to school everyday. Good on her. She still came to the diner often, although I had yet to really talk to her and get to know our new addition. That was-until the Ashley incident. 

I was helping Ruby bus tables one afternoon when Emma and Henry came up to us. 

“Hey, Ruby, we want to ask you about Ashley.” Emma says, making my eyes dart up. 

“Ashley? What about Ashley? Is she okay?” I asked. Ashley was a sweet girl who worked in the laundry room at the back of Granny’s. She was pregnant and was trying to put her way through school, so granny gave her a job to help her out. 

“She’s missing.” 

“What?” I say, nearly dropping the glass I was holding. Emma looked at me strangely for a second, as if trying to remember who I was, before turning back to Ruby. 

“She has a boyfriend right? Are you sure he doesn’t have anything to do with her disappearance?”

“Uh that would mean him being involved with her at all, which he isn’t. He left her in the lurch right after they found out they were expecting.” She replies bitterly, and I’m inclined to agree. Who up and leaves a pregnant woman? Emma gets an understanding look on her face and I suddenly wonder what she’s been through. That had to be a reason that she gave up Henry, and seeing as there didn’t seem to be a dad in the picture, I wonder if something similar happened to her. 

“What about her family?” 

“She’s got a stepmom and two stepsisters that don’t talk to her.” 

“Wait-stepmom, stepsisters, and she’s a maid?” Henry says questioningly. 

“Henry, not now.” Emma reprimands him.  _ What is going on? What was Henry trying to insinuate there? This is-strange.  _

“Look, I don’t know what you heard, but it’s wrong. Everyone thinks she's not ready to have this kid, but she's trying, taking night classes, trying to better herself, trying to get her life together. Can you understand that?” Ruby says, and I can’t help but love her for it. 

“I think so.”’

“Then maybe you should stay out of it. She’s been through enough.”

“I’ve been through it too, Ruby, and I’d like to help her.” Emma says so sincerely that I believe her. Ruby glances over at me and I give her a nod. I know that she knows where Ashley is, and maybe if I believe Emma can help her, she’ll let her. 

“You can try her ex, he lives with his dad.” Ruby sighs and Emma quickly thanks her and leaves. “I hope you’re right about her being able to help Ashley.” She comments and wipes the rag across the table. 

“I don’t know what it is, but I can’t help but think that she can.” 

…

“Why didn’t you tell me she sold the baby?” Emma demanded, walking into the diner later that day. 

“I’m sorry-what?” I choked out, turning around to face Ruby. She gave me a sheepish look. “Sold the baby-to who?” 

“To Mr. Gold-I’m sorry, why is this child asking me questions?” Of course it was Mr. Gold, he was the one you went to when you wanted to make a deal. 

“Uh because I’m here and you’re talking in front of me? And Ashley is Ruby’s friend, and Ruby is my friend so I care.” I snap back and Emma seems to accept that answer. 

“Look, I didn’t want you judging her okay? Ashley’s my friend, I don’t like it when people just assume.” Ruby crosses her arms and gives Emma a bold look. It was then and there that I realized that ruby had given Ashley her car so she could run away. Emma seemed to realize that too and even said so. “I was just trying to help her.” 

“And so am I! Ashley's in more trouble than you know, Ruby. Where is she? Don't make her deal with Gold without me.” Emma pleads. Ruby seems to listen to her pleas and sighs, glancing over at Henry. 

“I can’t talk in front of him. He’s the mayor's kid.” 

“Hey I’m on your side!” Henry interjects defensively. And even though I do trust Henry, I understand why Ruby doesn’t. I grab Henry’s arm and pull him aside to let the two talk. “I’m not my mom, ya know” he grumbles. 

“I know, Henry. But your mom has done some stuff, and people just have a hard time with that. I’m sure they’ll soon see that you’re just trying to help.” I reassure him. 

“I’m going to find Ashley, Henry stay here.” Emma says running out of the diner. Henry immediately gets up as soon as she leaves. 

“Where are you going?” I grabbed his arm to stop him. 

“I’m not letting her go alone, I need to go with her.” He insists 

“There’s no way your mom is gonna let you go with her.” 

“I don’t think she should do it alone!” 

“You go with her, Meagan.” Ruby suddenly pipes up.

“What?” 

“I’m not sure I really trust Emma, but I trust you. Please go help Ashley.” She begs, and Ruby is my best friend-she’s more like family, so I can’t say no. I nod and race my way out to where Emma is getting in her car. 

“I’m coming with you.” I get into her yellow bug, closing the door behind me. She opens her mouth to protest and I quickly cut her off “no arguing. Ruby may not trust you yet, but she trusts me. And if we help Ashley, I think she’ll trust you.” She doesn’t argue and we start driving towards the town line. 

“Can I ask you something?” Emma speaks up after a few minutes of silence. I shrug and she takes that as a yes “How did you and Ruby become friends? And why do you spend so much time at the diner? I see you there all the time.”  _ Shit, why’d you have to ask me that question. Now I’m gonna have to lie to you.  _ Emma couldn’t know the truth about me. I certainly didn’t know her enough or trust her enough to tell her anything. It’s not like it would change anything anyway. 

“I-uh- my dad works a lot and I spend my time there so I’m not alone. I started helping out there in exchange for meals and such. And over time I grew close to ruby and granny, they treat me like family.” I replied “I think it’s only fair that you answer my question now.” I say trying to get the attention off of me. “Why are you so keen on helping Ashley?” Emma stays quiet for a minute before letting out a breath. 

“I was 18 when I got pregnant with Henry,” she starts quietly and my eyes widen in shock.  _ That’s not much older than me.  _ “I was young and scared. I had no idea where my life was going and I was in a tough situation. So I gave him up, and I was all alone until he found me. And now that I’m here, I’ve realized how much I’m missing. I’m afraid that I might have made a mistake, and I don’t want Ashley to make the same mistake.” I was surprised by how vulnerable Emma had just been with me, despite this being our first real conversation, and the fact that I was a child. Maybe she really did want to help. 

“I’m glad you’re here then. Ashley seems like she’s in good hands. And Emma?” She glances over at me “Henry is glad you’re here too. He seems so much happier since you’ve arrived.” 

The moment was interrupted when we saw Ruby’s broken down car. 

“Ashley?” Emma calls out once she pulls up next to the car and steps out cautiously. 

“Aaah!” We hear her scream and find her sitting on a patch of grass not too far away “My baby. It’s coming.” she pants out.  _ Well shit.  _

“Are you sure?” I kneel down next to her on the grass, hoping maybe we could calm her down. 

“Oh yeah, it’s coming,” Emma replies, reaching out to help Ashley “Don’t worry, the hospital’s not far.” 

“No, no,no, I have to go to Boston! I can’t go back, he’s gonna take my baby!” Ashley sobs, and I rub her arm trying to comfort her. 

“We don’t have four hours. Trust me, I know.” Ashley continues to cry, shaking her head.  _ Well this isn’t getting us anywhere.  _

“Hey, hey, Ashley, you have to listen to us,” I say softly “Look, you know me alright? I’m Meagan, I’m a friend of Ruby’s. Don’t you trust me? Don’t you trust Ruby?” She nods, her hands still covering her face as she sobs “Then you have to believe me when I say that I trust Emma. And we are not going to let anything happen to your baby.” She looks up and glances at Emma who nods determinedly at my words. 

“Alright.” That's the only word we need as we quickly get her into the car and speed towards the hospital. We arrive at the hospital in record time, letting the doctors meet us and rush Ashley towards the maternity ward. I've decided I’m not needed anymore and start to leave-when Emma calls out to me. I turn around to face her. 

“Thank you. You really did help with Ashley today. You’re a good kid, I see why Henry thinks of you as a friend.” I blush lightly and scoff at that. 

“It’s uh-it’s nothing. Just helping a friend.” I start to walk out, only to see Henry rush past me towards his mom. 

“Is she okay?” He asks, out of breath. 

“Yeah, she’s fine, thanks to your friend Meagan. What are you doing here?” 

“I had to see if she was okay!” Henry explains frantically as his mom reassures him that Ashley was going to be fine. I smiled warmly at the sight. It seems like they’re getting closer despite Regina’s attempt to stop it. I walked out the hospital doors, only to pass Mr. Gold along the way. He walked past with his cane,wearing the suit he always wore, looking all the well like a fearsome authority figure. His eyes find me as we pass each other, him giving me a suspicious look.  _ Why is he looking at me like that? I don’t think I’ve spoken to him a day in my life.  _ His eyes dart back towards Emma as he strides towards her. I suspected he was here to try and get the baby. I contemplated staying for a second, but shook it off.  _ Let Emma deal with him, she’s totally got this.  _

…

Things had been a little calmer since the Ashley incident. My dad hadn’t hit me much since that night we found David. I suppose my threat of a sheriff investigation really freaked him out. It was nice not to have bruises for a few days. Speaking of David, he was seen out of the hospital and around town. And by that I mean I saw him in the classroom with Miss Blanchard. They seemed to be talking about something serious-until class started and she made him leave. She looked pretty flustered after. I wondered what they could’ve been talking about. 

To add to Emma’s ever growing impression on this town-she was now deputy per request of Sheriff Graham. I could see why after all she’s done here so far. Speaking of Graham-something was going on with him..

Wham! The loud noise startled me out of my chair and I whipped around to see one of the darts from the dart board sticking out of the wall. He appears he has thrown it near Emma to her attention. 

“What the hell? You could’ve hit me!” Emma snaps angrily at him. 

“I never miss.” He staggers over to her and they start talking in hushed angry voices. 

“What is going with him?” I ask Ruby as she passes by me. 

“I’m not sure. He’s been like that all day. He was saying that he ‘is remembering things’ and that he ‘needs to feel something’, whatever that means.” She shrugs. 

“Are him and Emma a thing?” 

“I’m not sure-but there’s definitely something there…” she trails off as if she realizes what she’s saying “Why am I having this conversation with a child?” 

“Because I’m your friend? And I’m actually very mature for my age.” I lean my head on my hand and give her a smirk. 

“You may be mature, my friend, but you are still a child. It’s late, go home.” Ruby motions for me to leave and I sigh, gathering my stuff and exiting the diner. As I leave, I see something that shocks me. Graham and Emma are standing not far away, and they’re kissing. 

“What the hell was that?” Emma exclaims once they separate from one another.  _ Well I guess that answers my question.  _

…

  
  


I was walking out of school the next day when I saw Mr. Gold again, walking through the hallways. He had been acting strange ever since the hospital. Every time I walked past his shop he would give me strange looks. It was making me uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to deal with him right now. So I darted back in the direction of Miss Blanchard’s class, hoping to hide out there for a minute. When I got there, Sheriff Graham was inside speaking with her. My curiosity got the better of me, and I planted myself against the wall and listened. 

“I think we- I think we know each other.” Graham was saying. 

“Of course we do.” Miss Blanchard replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“No, no, no. Not from here. Not from Storybrooke,” he babbled, and I had no idea what he was going on about. 

“From where then?”

“Another life.” He states firmly “Mary-Margaret, how long have we known each other?” 

“I don’t know. A while.” 

“Do you remember when we met?”  _ Why was he asking all these questions?  _

“No.” 

“Me neither. I can’t remember when I met you or when I met anyone. Isn’t that odd?” They keep talking, but I can’t hear them anymore over my thoughts.  _ Oh my god, is he right? I actually can’t remember when I met Ruby or Granny. I just sort of knew them. What’s going on here? Something is definitely going on. Is Sheriff Graham actually onto something?  _ “Hey, are you alright?” a voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and I realize that it’s Sheriff Graham.  _ Damn I didn’t even hear him leaving the classroom.  _ I looked up at him and his eyes widened as if he recognized me from the other night. 

“Uh-I uh- I’m fine!” I blurted out, about to run away before he stopped me. 

“Meagan, right?” He asks and I nod “You helped us find David Nolan the other night. Pretty brave for a kid.” He then gives me the most sincere look I’ve ever seen “You know, you can tell me anything. I’m the Sheriff, I can help if you ever need help.” 

“Like I said before-I’m fine.” I reply and pull myself away, dashing from his sight. He calls after me, but I don’t stop. I need to be alone. 

…

It was past nightfall when I arrived back at my house. I had spent the afternoon walking through the woods, trying to calm my mind. It surprisingly worked. Nature was very calming. I trudged inside, throwing my backpack on the floor, stopping when I saw my dad sitting on the couch. 

“What are-what are you doing home?” I managed to stutter out. He usually worked much later. 

“Sent everybody home early.” He slurred as he got up, stumbling over towards me. 

“What-are-what are you doing?” I gasped out, backing up towards the door “Don’t you remember our talk?” I pleaded.  _ You know what, fine, hit me. Maybe Sheriff Graham would actually do something. He thinks that something is going on. Maybe he could actually figure it out, maybe he could help.  _

“Oh I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem anymore,” he laughs and my stomach drops. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You didn’t hear? Your precious Sheriff that you thought you could use a threat is dead.” He laughs once more and I nearly choke. 

“What? How?”  _ I just saw him this afternoon, how could he be dead?  _

  
“I think they said heart attack or something- I don’t know it doesn’t really matter.”  _ Heart attack? How does a perfectly healthy young guy suddenly die of a heart attack?  _ I’m suspicious for a moment, but only for a moment before the dread settles in “What matters now is that you can’t hold that over me anymore.” He comes at me all fists and fury, clearly trying to make up for the nights he missed. And later that night, as I’m cleaning myself up after struggling to drag myself towards the bathroom, I regret ever thinking that my life could change. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you all liked it! These chapters seem to be getting longer each time so yay! I hope you enjoyed that little Emma and Meagan bonding part. I hope the changes I made to the Ashley episode made sense for this story. And you probably noticed, but I did skip episodes 5 and 6 and went straight to 7 because those two weren't really important to this plot. I think things are going to start picking up from here!


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since Sheriff Graham’s death. The town had fallen into a sort of haze. We had never really dealt with something like this before. His funeral was solemn and practically the whole town was there. It was also the first time I had been out of the house since his death. School had been canceled for a few days, and I didn’t leave the house- as my dad had decided that since we didn’t have an acting sheriff he could do what he wanted. Ruby and Granny had greeted me with hugs when they saw me at the funeral. 

“Where have you been? We haven’t seen you for a few days and we got worried.” Granny tutted and patted my cheek. 

“I-uh was sick, but I feel a lot better now.” I say the prepared line. My dad nods behind me. Normally he wouldn’t be at things like these with the whole town, but apparently he thought he should make an appearance and keep up pretenses. They give him a quick hi and we make our way over to our seats. I saw Emma sitting a little away from us, looking very upset. I heard that she had been there and that he had died in her arms. I can’t imagine what that would’ve been like. 

“So what happens now?” I ask Ruby quietly after the funeral. 

“Normally the job would go to the deputy, but I’m not sure what Emma’s going to do.”’ She shrugs. 

And now, 2 weeks after his death, no one knew who was going to be the new sheriff. 

I walked out of school, trying to ignore the aching in my body, when I saw Henry sitting up against a tree. He looked forlorn, so I made my way over to him. 

“Hey, Henry, are you okay?” I asked softly, sitting down across from him. He was younger than me, I’m sure this was the first time he’d seen death as well. He was probably taking this hard. 

“No. I thought she could help, that she could fix this, but I was wrong. Evil always wins,” he states blankly, casting his eyes downward.  _ What the hell is he talking about? _

“Henry, what are you talking about? Who’s she? And what could she fix?” I don’t get any answer as Miss Blanchard interrupts us. 

“I’m very sorry to interrupt, but we need to go. Mayor Mills has called a town meeting.” I furrow my brows in confusion and turn towards Henry questioningly. Regina hardly ever called town meetings. It appears Henry was as clueless as me, a confused look also on his face. We shrugged at each other and walked together towards the town hall. When we arrived, Regina was standing in her office with a bunch of reporters and Sidney Glass-her henchmen.  _ Okay, what’s she planning?  _

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes,” Regina begins, plastering on her fake smile “That’s why Sidney Glass is my choice for post of sheriff.”  _ Oh hell no. This can not be happening. Having one of Regina’s cronies as sheriff would certainly spell trouble.  _ “This man has put the needs of Storybrooke above his own for as long as any of us can remember as chief editor of the Storybrooke Daily mirror.”  _ Ha, as if. I don’t trust a newspaper editor as sheriff.  _ “Please welcome your new sheriff!” She goes to attach the badge to his uniform, and just as I’m about to lose faith, Emma comes barging in. 

“Hang on a second.” 

“Oh, Miss Swan, this is  not  appropriate.” 

“The only thing not appropriate is this ceremony.” Emma states crossing her arms “She does not have the power to appoint him.” 

“The town charter clearly states the mayor shall appoint…”

“A candidate,” Emma interrupts “You could appoint a candidate. It calls for an election.” 

“The term candidate is applied loosely.” Regina argues, the anger growing in her eyes. 

“No, it's not. It requires a vote. And guess what, Madam Mayor? I'm running.” I barely manage to hold back a cheer as I grin.  _ Go Emma.  _

“Fine. So is Sidney.” Regina fires back. 

“I am?” Sidney asks in shock and Regina turns to glare at him “I am.” 

“With my full support. I guess we'll learn a little something about the will of the people.” 

“I guess we will.” Emma says and marches out of the room. Henry glances over at me, and I notice a strange look on his face. He doesn’t look too happy. 

“What’s wrong, Henry? This is a good thing right? She’s fighting back.” I say, putting my hand on his shoulder. 

“I just-I just don’t know if she can win.” Is all he says before darting off after his mom. I watch him as he goes, confused by his reaction. 

…

Henry joins me the next day on my walk to Granny’s after school. He doesn’t say anything, and I can see why when we arrive at Granny ‘s and I see the newspaper. There’s an article on it titled  **Ex-Jailbird- Emma Swan birthed babe behind bars.** An article written by Sidney Glass. 

“Is he even allowed to do that?” I ask Ruby, horrified, “He’s allowed to write slander against his running mate?” 

“Regina will spin it as him letting the truth out,” Ruby scoffs “It’s dirty politics sure, but it’s not against the rules.” 

“Of course Regina would do this. But I don’t see what her having Henry in jail has anything to do with this election now.” At the mention of Henry’s name I suddenly realize that this must be the first time he’s hearing this.  _ Oh Jesus, I can’t imagine what Henry must be feeling.  _ I glance over and see him sitting at a booth, newspaper in hand. I walk over and slide in across from him. “Are you okay?” I ask, but before he can answer Emma enters and makes her way over to us. 

“Hey kid, Hey Meagan. How was school?” Emma slides into the booth next to Henry and gives me a nod in greeting.  _ Wow, not only did she remember me, she’s talking to me.  _

“Okay.” Is all Henry says back, still staring at the newspaper. 

“You’re reading that newspaper pretty hard.”

“Sidney wrote it.” He passes her the paper “is it a lie?” Emma reads the headline, an uneasy look passing across her face. 

“No.” She answers quietly, almost afraid of what his reaction will be. 

“I was born in jail?”

“Yes. These records were supposed to be sealed. Tell me you're not scarred for life.” 

“I’m not. Well, not by this.” Henry sighs. 

“Good. Then, let's throw this out and we will get our news from something more reliable. Like the internet.” 

“This is what I've been trying to tell you – good can't be evil, because good doesn't do this kind of thing. My mom plays dirty – that's why you can't beat her. Ever.” He states firmly.  _ Wow, Henry is pretty serious about this. The way he’s talking though is unusual.  _

“I have a new ally. Mr.Gold said he’s going to help me.” 

“Mr. Gold? He's even worse than she is. You already owe him one favor. You don't want to owe him any more. Don't do this.” He pleads and I’m inclined to agree with him. I don't know what it was-but Mr.Gold gave a feeling that he couldn’t be trusted.  _ Never trust a crocodile, love.  _ A voice swims in my head saying that- and I don’t know who said it-but somehow I knew it was about Mr. Gold. 

“I have to agree with Henry,” I say, Emma glancing at me in surprise “Mr. Gold is dangerous. He can’t be trusted. All he cares about is what can be done for him. That’s why he makes deals. If you make a deal with him you will probably end up regretting it-most people do.” I have no idea how I knew- I just knew. I had a gut feeling about Mr. Gold. Emma seems to be contemplating our words, glancing between us and the newspaper. She sighs and starts to get up. 

“Where are you going?” Henry asks. 

“To talk to Regina.” She replies shortly and leaves the diner hastily. I glanced at Henry worridley, Emma seemed to be taking this too much to heart. 

“Did you know?” He asks me suddenly.

“What?”

“Did you know that my mom had me in prison? You didn’t seem all that surprised…” 

“Yes.” I force out regretfully “I’m sorry, Emma told me when we helped save Ashley. I figured it wasn’t my place to tell you.” 

“No, I get it. I just wish I didn’t have to find out this way.” 

“Look, Henry, I know this wasn’t the ideal way to find out, but at least now you know right?” He shakes his head sadly. 

“I just don’t know why she didn’t tell me.” 

“Maybe she didn’t want you to see her in a bad light? It was probably hard for her.” 

“I wouldn’t care- I don’t care. She’s my mom,” he says earnestly, the most Henry reply I’ve ever heard. He was so optimistic and always saw the best in people.  _ God I wish I could be like that.  _ We don’t talk much after that, working on homework together for a while. We’re almost done with the assignment-when Leroy comes running into the diner. 

“The town hall is on fire!” He shouts and everybody starts to panic. Henry shoots up, his eyes widening. 

“My moms!” He gasps out in a panic. We dash out together, leaving our stuff behind, running as fast as we can. As we get closer I can see and smell the smoke coming from the building. I have to physically stop Henry from running inside when we get there. “I have to help them!” He shouts. 

“Henry, stop! You can go in there! I’m sure they’re going to be okay.” I reassure him as I hold him back. As if hearing my words, they hobble out of the house, Emma supporting Regina’s weight. Reporters take pictures of them as they exit, a fire truck arriving just in time. The firefighters come running out, a few going to douse the fire, while the others get Regina onto a stretcher. 

“Did Emma really rescue my mom?” Henry asks one of the firefighters. 

“Enough!” Regina shouts, clearly pissed at that insinuation. 

“Regina-“ one of the paramedics warns. 

“I’m fine.” 

“Nice shot of the victim?” Sidney says, having come up to Regina with a camera. I stifle back a laugh at her face when he takes a picture. 

“Sidney? What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to hand this election to her?”  _ This! This is how Emma is gonna win. People will see that she helped Regina and that she can help others.  _

“But it’s news?” 

“She’s the competition you fool!”  _ Wow, Sidney wasn’t really the smartest of the bunch.  _ A group of townspeople formed a group around Emma, talking excitedly about how she was a hero and how they should make campaign posters. Once everyone cleared away, it was just Emma and Henry standing there. 

“This is how good wins. You do something good and people see it, and then they want to help you.” Emma nudges Henry, smiling. 

“Maybe you’re right.” He replies, his mood seeming to be picking up. 

“You see, Henry? We don’t have to fight dirty.” Henry gave her a hug and went over to see how his other mom was doing. I was about to go back to the diner when I noticed Emma glancing at the ground, a weird look on her face. She bent down and picked something up off the ground. I could barely see it, but it seemed to be a piece of fabric? She got a cross look on her face and started walking determinedly towards something.  _ Alright, somethings going on here.  _ I decide to follow her, stopping when she enters Mr. Gold’s shop.  _ Well there’s no way I’m going in there. I’ll just wait out here.  _ She comes out a few minutes later, looking conflicted and angry. She huffs and sits down on the sidewalk outside the shop, staring at the fabric in her hands. I walk over and sit down beside her. 

“What’s wrong, Emma?” I ask. She doesn’t appear to acknowledge my presence at first, but sighs after a minute. 

“It’s Gold,” she states, handing me the piece of fabric “Gold was the one who started the fire so I would look like a hero to the public.”  _ Oh.  _

“Well, you are a hero,” I say, trying to comfort her. 

“That’s not the point. The point is that I wanted to win this election the fair way-without playing dirty. I wanted to show Henry that good can win by just being good. But-I don’t even know if that’s true.” I don’t know what to say in response to her vulnerability. I turn my head and glare at Mr.Gold through the shop, not caring at the moment if he can see me.  _ Who does he think he is, threatening people and trying to scare everyone in this town.  _ Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in my head. 

“I think I know what you can do.” She looks at me surprisingly “I think you should expose Gold for what he did- now wait just hear me out. Everyone in this town is scared of him. They’re more scared of him than they are of Regina-even she’s a little scared of him. If you call him out, if you stand up to him-it will earn you votes, it will earn you respect.” Emma seems to contemplate my words. 

“How’d you get so smart for a kid?” She finally says after a few moments of silence. I blush and shake my head. 

“I guess if you’ve just been here long enough, you know.” And well that was true, that wasn’t the whole truth. I just couldn’t tell Emma that I just had a gut feeling, that even though Gold hadn’t done anything to me personally, I just felt like he had, like I knew what he was like. 

“Thanks, Meagan.” Emma replies sincerely, putting her hand on my shoulder. And for the first time I don’t flinch away. 

…

The day of the debate, I sit nervously in the crowd with Henry, Ruby, and Granny. Archie had nervously stuttered out a welcome, and that sure didn’t lesson my nerves.  _ God I hope this works.  _

“Are you okay, Meg?” Ruby’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts. I then noticed that I had been tapping my leg unconsciously. 

“Oh yeah, sorry. Just nervous I guess. I gave Emma some advice, and I don’t know if she’ll follow it, or what will happen if she follows it.” 

“Hey, don’t worry about it! I’m sure whatever advice you gave her helped. You’re pretty smart.” Ruby comments, throwing her hand over my shoulder. 

“Thanks Rubs.” Our conversation is cut off when Archie comes back to the stand, Emma and Sidney sitting on either side of him. 

“Tragedy has brought us here,” he began and there’s a solemn silence for Graham. “But we are faced with this decision. And now, we ask only that you listen with an open mind and please vote your conscience. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to the candidates – Sidney Glass and Emma Swan. Glass. Swan. Sounds like something that a decorator would make you buy. Wow, crickets. Okay, uh... Uh, Mr. Glass – your opening statement.” Sidney walks over to the podium and clears his throat. 

“I just wanna say that if elected I wanna serve as a reflection of the best qualities of Storybrooke: Honesty. Neighborliness. And strength. Thank you.” I make a face that Sidney’s bland, short, clearly written for him speech.  _ If that’s not a reflection of how much he ‘cares’, then I don’t know what is.  _ He sits down and Emma walks up, her face showing her nerves. She quickly glanced around the crowd and made eye contact with me, giving me a slight nod.  _ Oh my god is she actually going to do it?  _

“You guys all know I have what they call an uh- troubled past. But, you've been able to overlook it because of the um, hero thing. But here's the thing: The fire was a setup.” At that the crowd begins to grow noisy, whispering to each other. “Mr. Gold agreed to support me in this race, but I didn't know that that meant he was going to set a fire. I don't have definitive evidence but I'm sure. And the worst part of all this was- The worst part of all this is I let you all think it was real. I can't win that way. I'm sorry.” And with that Emma sits back down, letting everyone try to grasp on to what she just said. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Gold had got out of his seat and exited the town hall.  _ Ha  _ I grinned triumphantly  _ She got you. She actually did it, she stood up to you. Have fun trying to recover from that one, crocodile.  _

…

“You stood up to Mr. Gold! That’s pretty amazing.” Henry says later at Granny’s. After the debate ended, a bunch of us gathered there in support of Emma. 

“Well he did something illegal.” Emma replies, thanking ruby as she hands her another drink. 

“That’s what heroes do. Expose stuff like that.” He then leans in and whispers something in Emma’s ear that I can’t make out. 

“Well don’t just thank me. I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for Meagan. She gave me the idea.” 

“Really?” He turns to me in surprise, and then tilts his head like he’s considering something.  _ What’s he doing?  _ I don’t think on it to long as Regina enters the diner. 

“I thought I might find you here,” she muses “With a drink and my son.” 

“What do you want Regina?” 

“I suppose congratulations are in order, Sheriff Swan.” She takes the sheriffs badge out of her pocket and places it in front of Emma.  _ Oh my god it actually worked!  _

“Wait. What?” Henry splutters. 

“It was a very close vote. But I suppose the people really seem to like the idea of a sheriff brave enough to stand up to Mr. Gold.” 

“Are you joking?” Emma chokes out, clearly in shock. 

“I’m not joking Miss Swan. You didn’t pick a great friend in Mr. Gold, but he does make a hell of an enemy. Have fun with that.” Regina gives Emma a smile and walks out. I barely have time to think about the fact that I don’t like the way she said that before Henry barrels into me-hugging me. I try not to panic at the sudden touching. 

“What-why are you hugging me?” I manage to get out. 

“You helped her! It means a lot to me that you helped her when you didn’t have to. I’m glad you’re my friend.” He says sincerely before releasing me and going over to congratulate his mom. A million thoughts swirl in my head.  _ Friend, friend. Is this what it’s like to have a friend? It’s nice. But no I can’t afford friends like Henry-but he seems to care so much. He’s too perceptive and helpful for his own good.  _ I start to breath a little too heavily and force myself to calm down, force my thoughts to control themselves. That’s too much thinking for right now. For now I’m going to celebrate with the town this victory.    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that chapter! And her bonding with Emma and Henry! Hmmm is Meagan starting to remember something from her past maybe???   
> I didn't intend to make this whole chapter episode 8, but it just sort of happened. Hopefully we'll get to the real good stuff soon. I want to write Dad!Killian just as much as you want to read it, but you know character development, and setting/plot building has to happen I guess lmao.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the day after he arrived that I learned about the stranger.

“Did you hear?” Ruby asks as soon as I get to the diner after school.

“Did I hear what?”

“There’s someone new in town.” She says it in a tone that suggests it was some juicy gossip. 

“What? Who?” I ask in shock. No one new had ever come to town until Emma, and now there was someone else? 

“I don’t know. Nobody knows who he is, where he came from, or why he’s even here. He just rode in on his motorcycle yesterday.” She shrugs, wiping down the counters and smiling at customers as they come in. 

“This is just insane. No one ever comes from out of town, then Emma shows up, and now this stranger? It just seems like everything has been changing since Emma got here.” 

“I guess you’re right, but is that a bad thing?” Ruby looks at me questioningly. 

“No-I uh-I guess not.” 

“I’ve talked to him.” A voice says suddenly and I jump, nearly dropping the mug I was holding. I turn around and see Henry sitting there. I hadn’t even heard him come in. 

“You have?” Ruby asks excitedly “When? What did he say?” She leans forward, listening intently to him. 

“He was by my house this morning, fixing his bike. I asked him why he was here and at first he said that he was ‘just visiting’, but then he said he was here to do something. He didn’t specify what. That’s all I got. No name or anything.” 

“Well, I suppose that’s better than nothing.” She sighs and puts her attention back on serving tables. 

“What do you think that guy is here for?” I ask Henry. 

“I don’t know. But I think it’s something good.” He hums “Things are changing around here-soon we’ll all be free.” And with that he skips off. _What the hell just happened? What does he mean?_ I shake off my concerns. I don’t have the time or energy to worry about that right now. I pull a tray off the counter and start walking around, busing tables, taking orders, and serving food. We weren’t really busy tonight, seeing as there was a big rainstorm outside. And I mean big. The rain pounded on the roof, giving an uneasy feeling. It was probably because of the lack of guests that I noticed when the stranger came in. He had dark hair, a leather jacket, and was carrying a large wooden case. He sits down, setting the case on the floor next to him. I nudge Ruby and her eyes widening, she makes her way over to his booth. She starts talking and laughing with him for a minute, and he’s smiling at her. I actually think she might be getting somewhere, until she comes back over. 

“So?” 

“Nothing.” She sighs forlornly “he’s being very secretive for some reason.” 

“Well, look Emma’s here,” I point to her walking over to the strangers table “She’s the sheriff, I’m sure she’ll get something out of him.” I sneak glances at them as I clean tables, trying to hear what’s going on. When the stranger leaves, I slide in across from Emma. 

“So?” 

“So what?” Emma asks, giving me a weird look. 

“The stranger? What’d you find out? C’mon, we’re all dying to know here.” I gestured to me and ruby, who was trying to listen in discreetly, but failing. Ruby blushed and hurried away, Emma looking amused as she did. 

“I didn’t realize the new guy was such a big topic.” She says. 

“Uhhh-of course he is! No one new has ever come into town- well I mean before you. Everyone’s curious.” 

“Well unfortunately I don’t have much to tell. I still didn’t get his name. But I did get out of him that he’s a writer and he came here for inspiration.” _He came here for inspiration? Yeah I don’t believe that for a second. Who would come here of all places to be inspired?_ Ruby voiced my internal question when I told her after Emma left. 

“I don’t know. This whole situation is weird.” 

…

The next weird incident happened a few days later. Henry was in the diner, furiously writing something down on a piece of paper. He was concentrating fiercely, and I wondered what on earth could have him thinking so hard. Apparently I wasn’t the only one as the stranger came and sat with him. I watched them carefully out of the corner of my eye as they talked. I didn’t really trust this stranger, and figured Emma didn’t either. I didn’t know how much she’d appreciate this guy talking to Henry. 

“What did he want?” I ask, coming up to Henry after the stranger left. 

“To talk about my book.” He answers shortly. 

“What book? I keep hearing you mention this book, but I’ve never seen it.” 

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he sighs “it’s gone.” And with that he leaves the diner, looking dejected. And as if Emma knew, she appeared later in the day, also looking that way. 

“What’s wrong?” I come up to her table, placing down her usual order-hot chocolate with cinnamon. She smiles gratefully before taking a small sip. 

“Well-I,” she stops suddenly and gives me a confused look “why am I about to tell all my problems to a kid.” I gave an exasperated sigh. _This again? When will she understand that I’m not a kid and I haven’t been in a long time._

“Because while I may be a ‘kid’, I’m actually a really good listener and you look like you could use someone to talk to.” I reply pointedly. Emma sits there for a minute, staring into her hot chocolate. 

“I have to stay away from Henry for a while-or Regina will probably file a restraining order.” 

“Is that because of what happened at town hall?” Emma had accused Regina of money laundering-only for it to backfire on her. She nodded regretfully. 

“Look, I don’t really know what I could say that would help, but I’m sure it’s not forever.” I looked her in the eye sincerely “What happened was pretty bad. I’m sure that you were right, but she wormed her way out of it somehow. I know that it’s probably hard for both you and Henry, but she can’t keep you apart forever. You’ll find a way.” I reassured her. Emma lifted her head up at me and smiled a sad but genuine smile. 

“That was some really good advice, Meagan. Sorry I doubted you.” Is all she said, but I knew that she meant a lot more. 

…

It was dark and cold when I exited my house late one night. There a distinct chill in the air, and the full moon shone brightly, lighting the streets in a glow. Although I was thankful for it lighting my pathway, there was something about the full moon that was almost creepy…..

A gust of wind blew past and I shivered, pulling my arms tighter around myself. In my hurry to escape my house, I had forgotten my jacket. Though, I doubt the old, flimsy, ripped up jacket would’ve done much. My father had been in a particularly bad mood last night. _To be fair, when isn’t he in a bad mood?_ I thought bitterly. Since he had been a really bad mood, and since he figured that “the new blonde sheriff is incompetent” (his words), he decided that he could beat me up as much as he pleased. He’d gotten a few good hits in before he collapsed, and I decided to escape before he got back up. Only I didn’t really have anywhere to go. Ruby was out for a girls night with Miss Blanchard and Ashley, so I couldn’t go to the diner. Plus it was late, and Granny would be all suspicious if I went into the diner this late and she would ask me all kinds of questions I couldn’t answer. So, here I was just walking alone around town at night. 

I rubbed my cheek unconsciously as I walked, still feeling the sting of a particularly hard slap. I really hoped it didn’t bruise. I didn’t want to have to come up with a story to explain this one. I was walking past the park when I heard a noise and thought I saw a shadow, so I quickly ducked behind a tree. _Who else would be out this late at night?_ I backed up against the tree and snuck a peek to see who was there. I saw the cane first and then the figure. Mr. Gold. He was walking at a normal pace, but there was something about the way he was walking that made me suspicious. He was walking with purpose, like had something very important to do, and he had a fierce determination in his eyes. I don’t know what, but something in me said to follow him. So I did. I snuck behind him carefully, trying not to make any noise, hiding behind things when I thought he might see me. He started walking down an alleyway, looking around as if to make sure no one was following him. He then ducked into the alleyway. I followed and peered into the alleyway, but saw nothing. _Huh?_ I started sneaking carefully into the darkness. 

“Why hello Miss Merendsen.” I jumped nearly a foot in the air when I heard that voice behind me. I whipped around and Mr. Gold was standing there leaning on his cane, the light from the moon illuminating him. He honestly looked pretty intimidating standing there in the darkness. 

“W-w-what do you want?” I started to stutter out, but forced myself to stop. I needed to show no fear. 

“What do _I_ want? You were the one following me, Miss Merendsen.” He starts to walk over towards me, and I stumble back in fear, backing up into a wall. He comes right up to me, essentially trapping me “You shouldn’t get involved in things that don’t concern you. It could end up being very dangerous, especially for you.” He’s staring so intensely at me that I shiver. I barely have time to even think about what he means, before he’s stalking away, leaving me trembling in an alleyway. _What the hell just happened? Why was he threatening me? What did he mean by it’s dangerous, especially for me?_ I manage to detach myself from the wall and make myself start walking back toward my house. I hoped my dad had already passed out because I didn’t want to stay out here any longer. I’d never had an interaction like that with him before. I’d never really had an interaction with Mr. Gold before. I wasn’t even sure he knew who I was-I mean everyone knows who everyone else is in this town-but I didn’t think he knew all that much about me. Yet he had just talked to me like he’s known me for a long time. I was confused to all hell. _What could that be about? He’s definitely doing something suspicious, but you know what? Not my problem. He’s made that very clear._

…

I was walking through the school hallways when I saw Miss. Blanchard. Now that’s normal, I see her everyday. But something was different about her. She seemed happier, lighter. I wondered if it had anything to do with David Nolan. I had seen them at the diner together-a lot. They were always sitting apart and trying (but failing) to be discreet about being there together. But I knew that they were there to see each other. There was a distinct look in their eyes whenever they were around each other. People may not think that I noticed much, but I did. And I noticed that they liked each other-a lot. She was now talking on the phone, probably to David, and whatever it was seemed like a good conversation. She hung up and was walking cheerfully down the hallway. Her good mood didn’t last for long. 

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” A voice called out and I glanced up. Kathryn (David’s wife) was marching angrily towards Miss. Blanchard, her eyes full of fire. _Well this can’t be good._ Miss Blanchard is faced away from me, so I can’t see her face, and I’m too far away to hear anything, but based on Kathryn's face I assume she must have said something. But then the most unexpected thing happened-Kathryn slapped Miss. Blanchard right across the face. The sound echoed through the hallway and there were loud gasps before everyone fell silent. Well I could definitely hear now.

“Can we-can we please talk somewhere private?” Miss Blanchard asks, glancing around nervously. 

“Private!? Why do you get any consideration at all? You have shown none for me! Either of you! All you did was lie!” Kathryn shouts, her voice thick with emotion. It was then I realized that she must be talking about David. Miss Blanchard and David had lied to Kathryn about something. But what? I could see how much this was hurting Miss Blanchard, and while I knew I shouldn’t listen and just walk away, but I couldn’t. Something was forcing me to stay. 

“We should have talked to you sooner, but we've been completely honest. We didn't lie.” 

“You didn't lie?” Kathryn scoffed “You snuck around, you have him break up my marriage with a pack of lies, with some crap about not being able to connect? He didn't have any trouble connecting with you.” 

“David didn’t tell you about us?” Miss Blanchard asks, sounding betrayed. _So that’s what it is, Miss Blanchard and David want to be together._

“No, of course not. That would have been the honorable thing to do.” 

“But he said he would tell you.” 

“Well, then he lied to you too. Good luck making it work. You two deserve each other.” Kathryn snaps then stalks away, leaving Miss. Blanchard standing there. I can see her shoulders shaking. She seems to notice everyone staring at her and walks quickly out of the school, not turning back once. 

I saw her again later at the diner. I didn’t have much homework so I was helping Ruby more than usual. I was cleaning up a table when Miss Blanchard entered, her eyes red rimmed and her shoulders downcast. Everyone immediately started whispering when she entered and a couple ladies glared at her as they left. I honestly felt kind of bad for her. Miss. Blanchard was a sweet person and a great teacher, and I had no right to judge her since I had no idea what really happened. She shuffled into a corner booth away from others, and I immediately put my tray down and walked toward her. I figured she could use someone to talk to. I slid into the booth across from her, ignoring her surprised look. 

“Hi, Miss. Blanchard.” I say

“What are you doing, Meagan?” She questions confused. 

“I saw what happened earlier. I just wanted to see if you were okay,``I glanced at her softly. 

“That’s really nice of you, Meagan, and while I appreciate it, you should probably stay away from me right now. People don’t want to be seen with me.” 

“Well lucky for you, I don’t care what other people think. Also if anyone is trying to come for a 12 year old that’s their problem.” I replied seriously. She gives me a thankful smile “You’re always supporting us Miss. Blanchard, so let me support you this time. Tell me honestly how you’re feeling.” She seems to struggle for a moment before settling on something to say. 

“I messed up really bad. I did something I wasn’t supposed to. I knew it was wrong, but I thought I could do the right thing and fix it, that I could have what I wanted. But I was wrong, and it backfired and now the entire town hates me. Not that I blame them,” she sighs. 

“Does this have something to do with David Nolan?” 

“What-I-how did you?” 

“I notice things. People don’t think I do since I’m a child, but I do. And I’ve seen you guys together. There’s clearly something there. Do you love him?” 

“I-I think I might.” 

“Look, I don’t know much about love, so I can’t help on that front. But I can tell you that not everyone in town hates you. I don’t. You made a mistake, everyone makes a mistake. You just wanted to be happy, like everyone does, they can’t blame you for that. You deserve to be happy. I’m sure that everyone will realize soon that they’re being unfair to you.” I finish softly. I hope to god I’m right. 

“Perhaps you’re right. Thank you, Meagan, you’re a smart girl and what you said helped.” I nodded and left her alone with her thoughts while I finished cleaning up the tables. 

“I need to talk to you!” Ruby whispers frantically, coming over to me. I let her yank me into the back room. 

“What? What is it?” I ask. _What could she be so concerned about?_

“You’re not going to believe this! Kathryn Nolan is missing!” She exclaims. 

“Excuse me???” 

“I overheard Emma talking about it! Apparently she was supposed to leave town, but they found her crashed car by the town line!” I could hardly believe it. All I could do was stare at her in shock “I know right! I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone per Emma’s order, but I couldn’t keep it from you. You can’t tell anyone, Meagan!” She looks me directly in the eye and shakes my shoulders violently. 

“Okay, okay! I won’t tell anyone! Jeez.” I muttered “just stop shaking me.” 

“Oh-sorry.” She lets go of me and smiles sheepishly. 

“Why isn’t anyone supposed to know? What’s going on?” 

“Emma’s keeping on the down low for now. I think she doesn’t want everyone to freak out until she knows what’s going on. No reason for people to get on Mary-Margaret’s case until she’s sure what’s going on.” 

“Mary-Margaret? What would people get on her case?” 

“Cause of what happened? She’s the most obvious suspect. Not that I believe she did it-of course I don’t she’s a friend- but others will automatically assume it was her.” 

“I just-I.” Words failed to come to me. I had no idea what I could say. 

“Yeah I know,” Ruby sighs and gives me a quick hug before running off back to work. Only one thought passed through my mind, _What the hell is happening in this town?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. This one was hard for me to write for some reason. Sorry not to much happened in this chapter, it was mostly development. Next chapter some big things happen and I hope you’re excited for it because I am! I’ll try to get the next one out as soon as I can.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Swearing, Abuse

Ruby?” Granny called as she came out from the back of the diner. I glanced back and saw Ruby still at the strangers table, talking to him excitedly. She’d been over there for a few minutes. “Ruby!” She called again. 

“Just give me a sec!” Ruby shouted back and went back to laughing at whatever the stranger was saying. 

“What is that girl doing? You’re my favorite now.” Granny mutters to me and I giggle as she gives me a conspiratorial smile. “Ruby! Get over here and stop flirting!” She demands, making ruby glance up and give her a dirty look. She marches back over to granny angrily. 

“I can’t believe you did that. That was humiliating,” she says, angrily wiping the counter with a dish towel. 

“I want you to start working Saturday nights.” Granny responds, ignoring her complaint.  _ Oh boy. Ruby is not going to like that.  _

“Come on-we have an agreement about Saturday night!” She argues. 

“I want to start training you to do the books and the reorders. Business is booming lately, and, with more money, comes more paperwork.” Ruby turns to give me a ‘is she serious’ look. 

“Yeah, none of that sounds good.” 

“It’s got to be done.” I sit there quietly, glancing between them, knowing the impending argument that’s coming. 

“Is this punishment for talking to that guy?” 

“If I wanted to punish you, I’d have better reasons. For one thing, you were late. For another thing, Liza, you dress like a drag queen during Fleet Week.” 

“And you dress like Norman Bates when he dresses like Norman Bates mother.” 

“Ruby, you’re a grown woman. You can’t keep acting like some kid.” Granny crosses her arms and gives her a serious look. They both look pretty angry, and I switch between wanting to stop it, but also not wanting to get involved. 

“You just want me to act like you until I turn into you. Well, I am not a fossil yet, Granny. I should be out there having adventures with lemurs!” Ruby shouts. 

“As long as you work here, you are going to listen to me!” 

“I didn’t ask to work here!” 

“Well, then what’s keeping you!” 

“Nothing! I quit!” Ruby yells, so loud that half the diner stares at her in shock. She grabs her stuff out of the back room and starts to storm out of the diner.  _ Damn. I knew Ruby was unhappy here, but I never thought she’d actually quit.  _ Just then ruby turned back and said “Meagan, you coming?” I turned to her in shock, glancing between her and granny. 

“I-uh-I guess?” I threw an apologetic look to Granny, and jumped up, following ruby out. I figured she would need me more right now. “So, uh, what was that?” 

“I just needed to get out,” she sighed “I was tired of that. Tired of her trying to make me her, when I’m clearly not. I could never be,” she finishes quietly, looking downcast. 

“Ruby-“ 

“Don’t. It’s okay.” 

“So-what now? What are you going to do now?” I ask as I walk beside her. I have no idea where we’re going. 

“I guess I’ll need to find a job. Something new and exciting.” 

“Well do you have anything in mind?” 

“No…” she admits. 

“I’ll help you.” I replied, putting my hand on her shoulder. 

“Thanks, Meagan,” she smiles gratefully “you have no idea how much that means to me.” 

  
  


…

“Want to be a bike messenger?” Henry asks, turning away from the computer screen. Ruby and I had recruited Henry’s help in finding her a new job, and he had eagerly agreed. 

“Bike messenger?” 

“Taking things to people in a little basket.” He supplies helpfully. 

“Yeah, no. Not so great at bike riding.” 

“How about taking things on foot, to people, in a little basket?” 

“I don’t think that’s a real job,” I point out, Henry forming a little frown at my words. A loud ringing interrupts our conversation. The phone had been ringing off the hook for a few minutes now. “What’s up with the phones?” I ask curiously. 

“Oh, the non-emergency calls go to a machine when Emma’s busy.” Henry responds nonchalantly, going back to scrolling on the computer. The phone rings once again, but Ruby surprises me when she picks it up and answers it. 

“Sheriff’s station. How can I help you?” She answers politely and starts answering calls and helping people out. And she’s actually really good at it. “What?” Ruby asks when she’s done, noticing the strange look I was giving her “ it was annoying me.” 

“How’s it going, you guys?” Emma’s voice calls from behind us. I hadn’t heard her come in. She shrugs off her jacket and comes to stand by us, leaning over the computer. 

“Great. Except I can’t do anything.” Ruby replies bitterly, biting on the tip of her pen. 

“I’m sure that’s not true. I just saw you on the phone. That was good.” Emma comments, and I’m glad that she does, because she’s right. 

“That? That was nothing.” 

“No. No, it isn’t. I actually have some money in the budget if you want to help out around here.” Ruby looks excited at the prospect and glances at me, eyes gleaming. I nodded that she should do it and she eagerly accepts the job. Emma sends Ruby off to get them some lunch and Miss.Blanchard comes in as she leaves. She has a worried expression written all over her face. 

“David’s in the woods. There’s something wrong with him. He looked right through me. It’s like… It’s like he was a different person.” She explains, nervously wringing her hands as she talked. That seemed to get Emma’s attention right away. 

“Thanks, Mary Margaret, I’ll look into it.” She says and Miss. Blanchard nods and leaves quietly. She starts gathering up her stuff and throws on her signature red jacket. “Okay, kids. Don’t mean to kick you out, but I gotta go see if David’s in some kind of trouble out there.” 

“It’s okay,” Henry shrugs and slides off the computer chair “you can let Ruby do more, you know. She’s Little Red Riding Hood.” I stopped at what Henry said.  _ What the hell did he just say? He can’t possibly-what does he mean?  _ I couldn’t make sense of what Henry had just said. 

“With a little basket? Yeah she seems like a badass.” Emma replies, making a quick glance over at me, keeping her voice low.  _ What is happening?  _

“She is. She just doesn’t remember how cool she is or what she’s capable of. But it’s true.” He hums. 

“Henry,” she lets out an exasperated sigh but he ignores her and motions to me. 

“C’mon, Meagan, lets go.” I shrug and pick up my stuff,following him out. “Hey, Ruby.” He gives her a wave as we walk past her. 

“Hey, Henry. I’ll see you later, Meagan!” She calls and bounds over to Emma, chattering excitedly, ready to start working. I’m really happy for her. It seems like she’s figuring out what she wants.

“I have something I want to show you.” Henry pipes up once we’re out of the station. 

“Uh, okay?” I can barely get out before he takes my arm and starts pulling me along gently. We walk for a bit until we find a secluded park bench shrouded by trees and sit down. “What’s this about, Henry?” He doesn’t answer and instead pulls something large out of his backpack. It’s old, brown, and leather, with large golden letters scrawled across the cover. ‘Once Upon A Time’ it reads. 

“This is my book.” He announces, laying it across his lap “this is the book that you’ve been hearing about.” I glance back and forth between him and the book confusedly.  _ It’s just a storybook. What’s so special about it? Why is he so attached to it? _

“Okay? Why are you showing me this? What’s so special about this book?” 

“I just thought it was about time. You’re my friend, and I trust you to know about this.” He’s smiling so brightly that it makes me smile too. His mood really was infectious. “As to what’s so special about this book-Take a look.” He slides it over to my lap and presses it into my hands. It feels ragged and torn, as if it’s been read a million times. I open it carefully, afraid to damage the spine even more, and glance at the colorful pages. Beautiful illustrations decorate the pages as I flip through the book. I see stories like ‘Snow White’, ‘Cinderella’, and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. “To you these just look like stories right?” I nod slowly, wondering where he’s going with this “Well they’re not just stories. They’re real, all of them.” 

“Uhhh-sorry, what?” I turn to stare at Henry, his words shocking me.  _ That was not what I had expected to come out of his mouth,  _

“Just listen, okay?” He pleads, and he sounds so serious that I listen “All of these stories are true. All these characters are real people. People here in this town.” 

“Henry-“ I struggle to get out the sentence.  _ How do I even respond to that?  _

“I know you’re probably confused. How can these people be fairytale characters? Well, they don’t remember that they’re fairytale characters. They were cursed to forget who they were. You were cursed to forget who you were.” He replies, his voice growing with excitement on each word. All I can do is stare at him.  _ I-he doesn’t actually believe this does he?  _ “Here, let me show you!” He says, having seen the look on my face. He flips the book to a certain page and points to it “See! Here’s Miss.Blanchard. She’s actually Snow White!” I glanced down and saw the picture he was pointing at. It was a woman that did indeed look like Miss. Blanchard, except she had long wavy hair.  _ I mean that is a crazy resemblance-no Meagan that’s crazy. It’s just a coincidence.  _ I shake it off as Henry continues talking and flipping pages “And my mom, Regina, she’s the evil queen! And Ruby is Little Red Riding Hood!” He points to person after person, and I can’t continue this anymore. 

“Henry!” I shout and that gets his attention as he glances up at me mid-flip “Henry, just because there’s some resemblance between the people here and the characters in your book, that doesn’t mean that they are real.” I try to stress this to him in the best and easiest way. 

“You just don’t understand yet. Look, this is you!” He exclaims and once again points to a page. I sigh and glance down at-me. Or a girl that looks remarkably like me. She has the same intense ocean blue eyes and wavy dark brown-nearly black- hair. But that’s where the resemblance stops. The girl in the photo has her hair up in a ponytail, and is holding a sword up in front of her with a determined look on her face. She looks fierce and tough, and I know that could never be me. “You real name is Meagan Jones,” Henry is still babbling on “You’re the daughter of-“ 

“Henry, stop!” I shout, overpowering his babbles. He quiets and looks at me a little fearfully “ Henry, this isn’t real. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so bold, but fairytales just don’t exist.” I felt a little bad killing his spirit like this, but he just needed to stop talking. 

“How do you know? They could exist, they do exist. Just because you don’t believe something, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” He insists firmly. 

“I just know, Henry. I know that fairytales don’t exist. Because if they did, then my dad wouldn’t-“ I stop right there, finally realizing what I was saying. I nearly gasp and clam up, breathing so hard I felt the weight of it in my chest.  _ You idiot, you nearly told him!  _

“Meagan?” Henry asks gently, and he’s glancing at me so softly that I can’t stand to be there any longer. I start to get up, but Henry gently grabs my arm “Meagan, wait, don’t leave.” I ignored him, wrenching my arm out of his grasp, and ran. I ran as fast as I could towards the woods. I needed to be alone and that was the perfect place. I kept running, my heart beating faster, my palms getting sweaty, and my breathing somehow getting even heavier. I finally collapsed when I couldn’t take it anymore, right against a tree and slid down on the ground. I sat there for a second and started to sob. Big heaving sobs that shook my very core.  _ How dare he.  _ I shuddered.  _ How dare that kind compassionate kid give me a semblance of hope that things could change.  _

…

I sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to calm down, thoughts swirling in my mind. I was trying to contain my breathing, when I suddenly heard the sound of a car coming from behind me. I glanced behind the tree and saw that I somehow had ended up near the toll bridge. I saw a figure climb out of a yellow bug-Emma’s car- and walk over to the bridge. It was Ruby! 

“Ruby?” I shouted, racing over toward her. She glances up, her lips pursing in shock when she sees me “Ruby! What are you doing here?” 

“Meagan? Emma asked me to come here and look for something. What are  _ you  _ doing here?” She asks. 

“Meagan? What is she doing there?” A heard a voice say and I realize that Ruby is on the phone with Emma. 

“I was just taking a walk through the woods, when I saw you here. I can help if you’re looking for something.” I offer. 

“Sure, the more the merrier, I guess. By the way, Emma, what are we even looking for?” Ruby says. 

“Anything out of the ordinary. Something that doesn’t belong.” Ruby takes Emma’s words and heads towards the bank of the river carefully, and I follow close behind her. 

“And-if we find something?” 

“Just follow your instincts.” 

“I don’t think I have those,” Ruby mutters, quiet enough for only me to hear “Look! There seems to be something there!” She points to a patch of dirt next to the river where a single board is laying. She climbs over rocks to get there and lifts the board, where a patch of sand is gathered. She starts to dig through the sand, and hits something hard. She brushes the sand away and pulls out a box. A little decorated jewelry box. We glance at each other confused and she turns the box in her hand. 

“What’s going on? Did you find something?” Emma asks through the phone. Ruby carefully opens the lid of the box,her face turning white as a sheet when she sees what’s inside. She screams and drops the box, scrambling away from it. 

“Ruby? Ruby?” I can hear Emma saying frantically from the phone. I start over to the box, and lean over to look at it, when ruby screams again. 

“Don’t! Don’t look at it! You don’t want to see that.” 

“What is it?” I ask, giving her a side glance. She’s hunched over, her hands on her knees. 

“It’s a heart,” she gasps out “A human heart.” 

…

“Was I right? Is it what I think it is?” Ruby asks Emma once we’re back at the station. 

“Yeah.” Emma answers regretfully. 

“I can’t look,” she moans and turns around covering her eyes. I’m standing far away from them, on both their orders. They had insisted I shouldn’t see this. 

“You okay?” 

“I don’t know what I am.” Ruby admits. 

“It’s going to be alright. We can figure out what happened now. Ruby, you did good.” 

“This is doing good?” Ruby asks doubtfully. And I think that maybe this isn’t what she wanted after all. 

“Yeah. It’s amazing. First, you found David, and now, this. I know you say you don’t know what you are, but, whatever it is, I got to say, I’m impressed.” Emma compliments, trying to comfort her.

“Don’t be-I’m scared out of my mind.” 

“But you did it anyway.” Emma reminds her and pats her on the shoulder “Alright, I think we’re done for the day. You can go home.” 

“Okay. C’mon, Meagan.” Ruby loops her arm around mine and we walk out of the station together. 

“She’s right you know, you did do good today.” I say, trying to comfort Ruby in anyway I can. 

“I’m going back to work at Granny’s.” She says suddenly, not acknowledging my words. 

“What? But I thought you were unhappy there?” 

“So did I. But today, with Emma, that wasn’t me. I was trying to be someone I wasn’t. And then I realized what the fight with granny was really about. I was scared. Scared because Granny wanted to give me more responsibility, wanted me to be more like here. And I don’t know how to be like her, she’s a tough act to follow. But being with Emma today made me realize that I don’t want that kind of adventure. I want to do something I love, something that I’m good at. I’m going to go talk to Granny.” She finishes and she’s smiling by the end of her speech. And I can tell that she truly means her words. 

“Well I’m glad that you found what you were looking for.” 

“I want to thank you, Meagan.” She turns to me “You’re always by my side, no matter what. I want you to know that you really are like my little sister.” She wraps me into a hug at those words and we’re laughing as she squeezes me tight. “Well, I gotta go talk to Granny. See you tomorrow?” 

“Of course.” I say and wave to Ruby as she walks into the diner, lighter than she was earlier. 

…

It’s pretty late when I arrive home, later than I usually would. I pray as I open the door that my dad is conked out on the couch. But of course, once again, luck is never on my side. 

“You’re late,” he says simply as I close the door behind me. He’s standing in the hallway, beer in hand “Where the fuck were you.” 

“None of your business.” I reply shortly. 

“Listen here you piece of shit, I don’t have the patience for your attitude! I got fired from work today and it’s all your fault.” He slurs and goes to sit down, beer bottle shaking in his hands. And I don’t know what comes over me next. I’m not sure if it’s the conversation with Henry, or seeing Emma and Ruby’s bravery today, but I feel a wave of bravery come over me. 

“I’m sorry, but no. It is not my fault that you lost your job. You lost your job because you’re a lazy, angry, pathetic drunk, who beats his daughter because he’s angry at the world and can’t handle it.” He’s shaking, visibly fuming, and I know I should stop, but I can’t “And another thing, it is not my fault mom died. I never even knew her, but I know that she would be ashamed of you.” And that’s too far. 

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!” He growls and I don’t have time to dodge as he lunges towards me. Suddenly he’s got me by my collar and shoves me up against the wall. 

“Please-please don't-I’m sorry.” I cry, but it’s useless. I’ve never seen him this angry before. He pulls back his arm and slaps straight across the face, so hard I see stars. Then he starts punching me repeatedly. In between his punches, I let out pleads of him to stop, but he ignores me. I can feel blood streaming down my face, dribbling onto my shirt. After a while he throws me down onto the floor and starts kicking me. I cry out in pain. “Please! Stop!” I sob and try to shove him away weakly. I don’t know if he can even hear me anymore. Suddenly he stops kicking, and I sigh in relief, but my relief doesn’t last long. He reaches out his hand and grips my long hair. He yanks it and starts to drag me toward the kitchen by my hair. I scream as I’m dragged, I can feel hair being ripped out of my head. He’s never hurt me this bad before. I can feel myself losing consciousness when we finally arrive at the kitchen and he lets go. I see him out of the corner of my eye open the fridge door, and pull out yet another beer bottle. My vision starts to cloud, and the shatter of glass is the last thing I hear before everything turns black. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! Sorry it took longer then I expected. But I wanted to make sure it got this one right. I told you something big was going to start to happen and it did! The good news is that I already have part of next chapter written so I hope that I can get it out sooner (no promises though). I hope you all have a great day and I promise Dad!Killian is coming! It will be so rewarding when it does.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter! Sorry it took me a while, hope it being my longest chapter yet makes up for it. So I decided I do something a little different for this chapter, so it’s from Emma”s POV! I thought it would be fun to get her perspective on the situation and since Meagan was unconscious at the end of the last chapter, Emma seemed like a good character to switch over to for a chapter. I hope you like it, it’s my first time writing Emma’s POV so I hope I got it down right!

**(Emma’s POV)**

I was sitting at the station doing some paperwork when Henry came rushing in. He seemed almost frantic. “Hey, where’s the fire kid? What’s wrong?” I ask and devote my full attention toward him, noticing the look on his face. 

“I need your help with something mom, and you can’t tell my other mom.” 

“Henry..” I hesitate. Regina already doesn’t like me, keeping secrets certainly wouldn’t help “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Maybe you should ask Regina, I don’t know if this is the best idea.” 

“Please? You’re the only one that can help. I need your help-as the sheriff.” He begs, and I can’t help but say yes to his pleading face. 

“Alright, kid, I’ll help, but why do you need the sheriff?” 

“Thanks” he says with a sigh of relief “So, as the sheriff, you have to look into every claim right? If someone comes in and says someone’s in danger you have to look into it, right?” He asks, and I glance over at him surprisingly. Why is he asking this?

“Well usually. It depends on the claim, and what the situation is. If I think someone is in danger, how much evidence someone has, stuff like that. What’s with all the questions, Henry?” 

“I think someone is in trouble, mom.” He whispers, and he looks so sad that I motion for him to continue “It’s Meagan.” 

“Meagan? Why do you think she’s in trouble? Wait-Are you two friends?” 

“Sort of? I dunno” he shrugs “I don’t really have any friends, and she doesn’t really have any friends so I thought we could maybe be friends, but she doesn’t seem like she really wants any. But that’s not the point. The point is that I was talking to her earlier today and showing her my book.” He pulls out his storybook and opens to a page with a picture of a girl on it “I was showing her this because she is the girl on this page.” 

“Henry...” I say, growing frustrated by his belief that these were real.

“Just let me finish mom.” He cuts me off, and he’s so sincere that I back off. “I told her that they were real and that she was the girl on this page and she laughed at me. She said ‘Henry, I know fairytales don’t exist. If they did, my dad wouldn’t..’ and then she just stopped talking and ran off. And she doesn’t know that I saw, but I saw bruises on her mom, that she was hiding. I think her dad is hurting her.” At that I flashback to the orphanage, when some kids who had been in foster homes would come back with bruises, having been abused by their foster families. I remember it being the one time I was glad I hadn’t been chosen. And I think of Meagan. Kind, smart Meagan, who helped find David and Ashley, who helped me win the sheriff campaign, who helped out my son, even though she didn’t have to. I thought of this poor girl, not much older then my son, being hurt by someone who was supposed to love her. Then I glance at my son. My sweet, kind hearted, observant son, who just wants to help people. And he believes so much that this girl needs help, and wants to help. And if he believes it, I believe it.

“I’m so glad you told me that, Henry. You did the right thing. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to drop you off at home, and then I’ll go check on Meagan.” 

“No! You can’t drop me off, I’m coming!” He replies defiantly. 

“Henry, it’s way too dangerous.” 

“You wouldn’t even know about her if I didn’t tell you! Please mom. I know that I said we weren’t really friends, but I think of her as one, and I care about her. Please.” He begs and pleads, and I cave. 

“Alright, fine. You can come with me. But you are staying in the car and you have to do what I say, understand?” I say firmly, throwing my jacket on.

“Yes I understand, thank you mom!” He hugs me tightly and sprints off towards the car. I quickly look up on my computer where this girl lives and grab my keys. 

“So, why don’t you want your other mom to know about this, kid?” I ask as we’re driving through town. 

“Well uh, my mom once told me that she knows about every single thing that goes on in this town, and I’m not sure if that’s true, but I can’t shake the thought that she knows what’s happening to Meagan and just didn’t do anything about it. And I don’t want to know, so that’s why I didn’t tell her about it.” He finishes quietly.

“Henry, I’m sure she didn’t-“ and I stopped there, not knowing what else to say. What if she did know? When we arrive at the house I’m pretty shocked by what I see. The house is in its own little area, not near any other houses, and it’s in bad shape. Really bad shape. It’s broken down and dilapidated. Shutters hanging off the windows, paint peeling everywhere. No other house in storybrooke looked like this. What happened? “Did you know she lived here?” I ask Henry and he shakes his head, his lips parting in shock. The more I looked at that house the more I feared that Henry could be right “okay, I’m going to go and check it out. Stay here.” I looked him right in the eye to show him I was serious. He nods and I get out, locking the door behind me. I didn’t know what danger could be in this house, so I had to do my best to keep him safe. 

I walked carefully up to the house, keeping my hands near my gun. I went up the steps to the porch, each one of them creaking loudly as I walked. Well so much for being quiet. I sighed and knocked on the door. There was no answer. In fact I could hear no movement inside at all. Well I suppose I’ll have to break in. I pulled a Bobby pin out of my pocket and went to unlock the door. It’s all about the tumblers I reminded myself, remembering what he taught me. The door clicked and I slowly creaked it open, pulling my gun out as I do. It’s dark inside, the only light coming from the moon and the static of the tv. The volume is low, only muffled sounds coming from whatever is playing. Once my eyes adjust, I see that some of the furniture is turned over and pictures are scattered on the floor. What the hell happened here? I step inside and start to walk through the house, stepping over broken glass. I make my way towards the kitchen and what I see when I get there makes me want to puke. Meagan is laying on the hardwood kitchen floor, her arms spread out away from her, not moving. Her hair is spread out like snakes around her. She’s bleeding profusely, laying a pool of blood. There’s cuts and bruises all over her body, her lip is split and her eye is swollen.

“Holy shit,” I say, unable to say anything else. She looked dead. I quickly make my way over to her, stepping over a broken beer bottle. She must have had that thrown at her I muse, noticing glass embedded in her arm. I put my fingers to her neck, letting out a huge sigh of relief when I feel a pulse. Thank god she’s alive. I don’t know how, but she’s still alive. I have to get her to a hospital. I put my hands underneath her body and picked her up in my arms. I didn’t have time to call and wait for an ambulance. I carefully make my way out of the house and towards the car, trying not to jostle her in my arms. She’s surprisingly light, to light. “Henry! Open the door!” I called out to him. We had to hurry. I had no idea where Meagan’s dad had run off to-and we didn’t have time for him to get here. I would worry about finding him later. Henry’s eyes widen when he sees Meagan in my arms and he scrambles out of the car. 

“Mom! Is she okay?” He asks, voice trembling and eyes fearful. He shouldn’t have to see this. I shouldn’t have taken him with me.

“She’s alive, Henry. We have to get her to the hospital. Help me get her in the backseat.” I say, taking action. I can’t let emotion get in the way right now. He listens to what I said and pulls the seat back as I gently lay Meagan in the backseat, still unconscious. I hastily get in the front seat and drive as fast as I can towards the hospital. When I get there, I carefully pull her into my arms and run inside. “Hey we need help here!” I called out. A couple of nurses looked up and gasped at the sight. I’m sure nothing like this had happened here before. 

Two of them ran over with a stretcher and took her out of arms, laying her on it-as another yelled “Page Doctor Whale!” They took the stretcher and wheeled it off quickly towards one of the rooms. As she vanished from the sight-I only had one thought on my mind. Why had nobody ever noticed what was happening to her? Why didn’t I ever notice? 

“Mom?” I heard quietly behind me and I remembered that Henry was with me and had seen it all. I go over to wrap him in a comforting hug. 

“It's okay, kid. She’s gonna be okay. You did a good thing today.” I say. I take him by the shoulders and lead him over to the waiting room chairs where we sit down. 

“What’s going to happen to her now, mom?” He asks, after we sit in a silence for a little while. 

“I don’t know, kid,” I sigh, and I realize that I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I had never dealt with a situation like this before, and I genuinely had no clue how to help this poor girl. “Alright, kid,” I say after we’ve been sitting there for a while “I should get you home before Regina thinks I’ve kidnapped you or something.” Then, right on cue, Mayor Mills herself walks through the hospital doors towards us, her high heel clacking against the floor. 

“Miss Swan!” She snaps, stalking towards me, arms crossed “May I ask why you’re sitting here with _my_ son in the hospital?” 

“It’s my fault, mom!” Henry quickly rushes to defend me “I made her bring me with her.” 

“That still doesn’t answer the question of why we’re in the hospital in the first place.” 

“I’m here on official police business, Madam Mayor.” I deadpan, started to get annoyed by her line of questioning. Jeez I thought I was supposed to be the sheriff here. 

“And what, pray tell, is this ‘business’.” 

“I really don’t see why that is any of your business.” 

“I am the mayor, Miss Swan. I believe it’s in my job description to know what’s going on in this town.” At that I snap. 

“Oh really Madam Mayor? Well I think you’re doing a piss poor job of knowing what’s going on in this town.” I can see Henry’s jaw drop, and Regina’s face contorts in fury “The reason we’re here in the hospital is because a 12 year old girl got brutally beaten up by her own father, who’s probably been hurting her for years! So either you knew this was happening and didn’t care, or you are not as good as you think you are at knowing what’s going on.” I’m clenching my fists so hard that my nails dig into my skin. All I’m thinking about is Meagan, lying broken on that floor, and what could’ve happened if no one had ever found out. I glance at Regina, and see that her look of fury had dropped and a new look crossed her face. I couldn’t quite make out what she was feeling though. She almost looked in shock, but also composed. I had no idea what she was feeling, and that didn’t answer my question of whether she knew or not. 

“Is-“ Regina cleared her throat “Is the girl okay?” My eyes widen in shock at Regina’s almost caring tone? Well at least she isn’t for child abuse. 

“I’m not sure. We haven’t heard anything yet.” Then as if on cue, a nurse comes over to us. 

“You brought the girl in, right Sheriff?” I nod and she continues “Doctor Whale is on his way to speak to you.” 

“Is there only one doctor?” I whispered to Henry as the nurse walked away, and he only gave a shrug in reply. I then see Doctor Whale, come striding toward us, and I barely manage to keep from rolling my eyes. As much as I despise Doctor Whale for how he treated Mary-Margaret, this wasn’t about him, this was about Meagan. 

“Sheriff Swan,” he greets as he stops in front of me “Pleasure seeing you again.” 

“Sure. What can you tell us about Meagan?” 

“Well, all business today I see.” He mutters and opens his chart “Ah yes, Meagan Merendsen, poor girl,” he shook his head sadly “Can you tell me what happened?” 

“I’m not exactly sure. I suspected that Meagan was being abused by her father, so I went over to check on her and I found her like that.” 

“Well, I can’t for sure say it was her father, but that girl was definitely getting abused by someone. She has a lot of old bruises and wounds that are weeks old. They aren’t injuries that came from the beating she got tonight. Speaking of the injuries she got tonight, to start, she has two broken ribs, but it doesn’t look like she’ll need surgery, so they’ll heal on their own within 3-6 weeks. She’ll just need to take some pain medication and ice them. She has a lot of cuts and bruises that will heal over time, but some of the deeper ones will leave scars. She had glass embedded in her arm, but that’s all out and her arm is all stitched up. Her left eye is swollen, but with some eye drops that should go away in a few days. Her nose was broken but we reset it and it should heal fine. What I’m saying is, physically she’ll be fine.” He finishes and I let out a little sigh of relief at his last sentence. At least she won’t have any lasting injuries. 

“And mentally?” 

“Unfortunately I am not a psychiatrist, Sheriff. That will have to be found out over time.” He replied, and I rolled my eyes, wondering if he can answer a question without being sarcastic “She’s awake by the way if you want to do your sheriff thing. She was a little disoriented and freaked out a little when she didn’t realize where she was, but she calmed down and should be fine by now.” He walks away briskly after that. I sighed and turned back towards Henry and Regina. 

“Well, I guess you have a patient to go visit, Miss Swan. Come along, Henry,” she motions towards him. 

“No, I’m staying here.” He replies stubbornly, remaining seated in his chair. 

“Henry…” 

“Mom, she’s my friend! I have to see her! C’mon please?” He now turns toward me, a pleading look written all over his face. And as much as I know he wants to stay, I don’t have the energy to piss off Regina right now. 

“Henry,” I reach over and put my hand on his shoulder “I know you care about Meagan, and I know you want to see her, but I don’t think you should tonight. She’s been through a lot and I don’t think she’ll be up for any visitors. So go home with your mom, and you can come see her tomorrow after school, alright?” Henry lips purses into a frown but he gives an understanding nod and goes over to Regina. She says something quietly to him, and he exits out the hospital doors. 

“Well, sheriff, I trust that you have this handled. Have you caught the girl's father?” 

“He wasn’t at the house, and my first priority was getting her here. Going after her father will be my priority first thing tomorrow morning.” 

“Good.” She nods “Now as the mayor I expect full updates on how she’s doing.” At that she left briskly and I made my way towards Meagan’s hospital room. I put my hand on the handle of the door, and let out a calming breath, not knowing what I could be dealing with inside. I knock lightly on the door and wait until I hear a soft “come in” before I enter. What I see when I enter makes me want to go out and beat up Meagan’s father right then and there. She’s sitting up in the hospital bed, her arm and ribs wrapped tightly in bandages, her face swollen and heavily bruised. She’s staring down at the sheets, picking at the loose threads with her fingers. She looks up at me as a step closer, and I can see sort of a dead look in her eyes. It makes my blood boil to see a young girl look like that. 

“Hey, Meagan.” I say softly, coming to stand beside her bed “How are you feeling?” She gives a shrug and doesn’t answer me, going back to picking at the sheets. It catches my attention that this was the quietest I had ever seen her. I have to get through to her somehow, I have to talk to her. 

“So, listen, I know this is probably hard and scary for you, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. But you need to talk to me, I can help you, I can get your dad arrested and you won’t ever have to see him again, but in order for that to happen, you have to talk to me, okay? I promise I won’t pressure you, I won’t tell anyone else what you say, and if it gets to be too much we can stop.” She finally looks up at me and gives a slight nod. Well that’s progress at least. “Okay, first of all, Meagan, I need it confirmed, was it your dad who did this to you?” 

“Yeah,” she replies every so softly, and I give her an encouraging smile. 

“Okay. Can you tell me a little about the attack?” I give her a couple minutes and wait until she’s ready to speak. 

“I-uh-I had just come home after being at the station with you and Ruby..” as she tells the story, I can feel my eyes widening in shock, and my chest grows with anger at every word. When she finishes the story, I notice a hint of tears in her eyes and don’t say anything to give her a few moments to collect herself. 

“How long has your father been abusing you?” I ask once I notice she’s calm. 

“Honestly, as long as I can remember.” She looks down again “It’s all I’ve ever known, and no one ever noticed-until now. How did you know anyway?” She stares at me questioningly. 

“Henry,” I figured it was best just to tell her the truth “Henry was worried about you and told me that I should check on you.” 

“I guess I kind of owe him one,” she gives a bitter laugh before a pained expression crosses her face. 

“I’m so sorry that this has been happening to you, Meagan, and that no one noticed. You didn’t deserve it,you don’t deserve it. I promise I will find your father and you will never have to see him again.” She shoots me a grateful look through teary eyes, and I wonder how anyone could possibly hurt this girl “Do you have any other family members that you can go live with?” 

“No,” she shakes her head “No one.” And my heart aches for her. 

“It’s okay, we'll figure something out,” I reassure her, because it’s true. I will find a way to help her, I have to. I won’t abandon this girl like everyone abandoned me. “Okay, Meagan, I’m going to let you get some sleep. But I’ll be back tomorrow, alright?” 

“Thanks, Emma,” I hear her say as I start to leave. I turn back and flash a smile before I make my way back towards the waiting room. 

“Emma! Emma!” I hear a voice shouting my name frantically. I look up to see Ruby running towards me, looking frazzled. She’s still in her diner uniform, and there’s a panicked look in her eye. When she reaches me she’s out of breath. 

“Ruby? What are you doing here?” 

“A nurse came to the diner after her shift and mentioned that Meagan was here! I came as quickly as I could. Is she okay? Emma, please tell me she’s okay!” Ruby shook my shoulders frantically, a wild look on her face. It was then I could see how much she cared for her. I gently pried her hands off my shoulders. 

“Ruby, calm down. Meagan’s going to be fine, I promise.” I replied in a soothing tone. 

“Oh thank god, I was so worried. What happened to her?” 

“That’s not my story to tell, Ruby. Meagan will tell you when she’s ready.” 

“Oh,” she muttered quietly and looked down for a second “Which room is she in? I should go see her.” 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea..” 

“Emma, she’s like my little sister! I have to go see her.” She begged. 

“Ruby, I think she’s sleeping right now. She’s been through a lot tonight, so maybe another day would be best.” 

“ I suppose you’re right, I’m just glad she’s okay.” Ruby sighs and to my surprise gives me a quick hug before walking off, wrapping her arms around herself. I went up to the front desk, told them to call me if anything changed with Meagan, and left the hospital to head home. 

…

When I arrived back at the loft, I was surprised to see Mary-Margaret still up, sitting on the couch reading. 

“Mary-Margaret? What are you still doing up?” I ask, shutting the door behind me. She looks up from her book and jumps up to greet me. 

“Emma! You’re back!” She walks over to me “You didn’t come home and I got worried something happened- what’s wrong?” She asks, having obviously sensed my mood. Why was she so good at doing that? I sighed and walked over to the island, plopping myself down on a stool. “That bad, huh? Coffee?” She walks over to the pot and starts brewing some. 

“I might need something stronger,” I muttered. 

“Okay, seriously what’s wrong? Something bad happened, I can tell.” She puts a coffee mug down in front of me, and I put my hands on it, the warmth flowing into them. Mary-Margaret stands across from me, leaning on the counter, giving me a caring look. And I don’t know how she does it, but somehow she’s so comforting that I talk. 

“I’m home this late because I had to take someone to the hospital. Meagan Merendsen.” 

“What? Oh my god is she alright?” She gasps, straightening up and giving me a horrified look. 

“Yes, she’s going to be fine. She was really hurt though.” 

“What happened? Who could hurt that sweet girl?” I don’t even know how to answer her, but somehow I do. I tell her about the events of the night, and I watch as her face drops into horror and sadness as I go on. When I finish I can see the start of tears in her eyes. “Oh my god, that poor girl. I just-I can’t believe it. I can’t believe her own father would do that to her. I can’t believe she had to suffer like that.” 

“You can’t tell anyone what I told you, alright? I wasn’t even technically supposed to tell you, but I figured you should know.”

“Of course not, Emma! I just-what are you going to do? What’s going to happen to Meagan?” 

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly “She doesn’t have any family so I have no idea what to do, how to help her.” I put my head in my hands and leaned on the counter, thoroughly frustrated. 

“She could stay here with us.” I popped my head up at her suggestion. 

“What?”

“Just think about it. She doesn’t have a place to stay, and I have an extra bed. She shouldn’t have to be alone. We can take care of her for the time being.” She insists and I’m once again amazed by her kindness. 

“Wouldn’t it be weird for her to stay with the sheriff and her teacher?” 

“Well one, I don’t think she’ll care about that much as long as she has somewhere to stay, and two, you haven’t arrested her dad yet right? So say it’s for protection or something, I don’t know. All I know is you want to help her, that we have to help her, and this is how we do it.” She says, and I know that she’s right. 

“You’re right, she needs someplace to stay, so she’ll stay with us until we can come up with a solution. Thanks, Mary-Margaret, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She gives me a little smile, and we sit there for a while in silence, just drinking our coffee. And as I go to sleep that night, I dream about arresting Meagan’s bastard father. 

…

Turns out, it wasn’t very hard to find Meagan’s father. He was at the local bar, passed out drunk, as if he hadn’t just beaten his daughter half to death last night. It made me sick. 

“Glad you’re here, sheriff. Was just about to call about this guy myself.” The bartender jerked his head towards the bastard “He’s here practically every night.”

“Well don’t worry, he won’t bother you again. I’ll make sure of that.” I take the ice bucket he offers and pour it over the drunken man. He jumps up immediately and starts spluttering, the cold water hitting him. “Sir, you are under arrest.” I place the cuff around his hands, it being surprisingly easy as he’s still coughing and struggling to come to. I lead him out to my car, and it’s when I start to shove him inside that he finally seems to know what’s going on. 

“Heyyyy, wait! Why are you arrestin me? You can’t arrest me for enjoying my alcohol.” He stammers out. 

“Actually I can sir. But don’t worry, because you’re getting arrested for child abuse; not alcohol consumption.” I shove him in the car, not even trying to be gentle. I get in the front seat and start to drive, and unfortunately he starts talking. 

“Child abuse? What the hell are you talking about?” He’s remarkably a clear speaker now. 

“I’m talking about the fact that you savagely beat your daughter so bad that she ended up in the hospital.” I deadpan, quickly growing tired of this man. 

“What are you talking about? You have no proof it was me.” He replies stubbornly. 

“You mean other than the fact that it happened in your locked house with no signs of forced entry? Or the fact that your daughter told us it happened?” 

“And why would you believe anything that little brat says? She could be lying!” I grip my steering wheel harder to keep from reaching back and clocking him. 

“We have eye-witnesses that have seen multiple bruises on her, and doctors and nurses that say that those bruises are weeks old. So, try again.” I pull the car up to the station, and tug the bastard out of the car leading him into the station. 

“Fine, whatever. I have no regrets. That bitch deserved everything she got.” That’s when I decide I’ve had enough, and punch that bastard right in the face, so hard that he reels straight into the cell. 

“What the hell, lady, you can’t just punch a guy without reason!” He swears and pinches his nose, it coming away bloody. I grin at the sight. 

“Actually, I’m the sheriff so I can. I’ll just say you resisted arrest and I had to punch you in order to take you in.” I slam the cell door shut with a clink and lock it “And your daughter did not deserve to be beaten. She’s 12 and you’re her father! You’re supposed to love her not beat her half to death! So, it’s you who will be rotting away in this cell, and you’ll never see her again.” At that I turn away and walk out, ignoring that shouts from behind me. I am satisfied. On my watch, I swear that he’ll never hurt Meagan again. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that’s the chapter! Yay Meagan’s cursed father has been arrested. I can’t say we’ll never see him again, but that’s the last time he’ll physically hurt her. I hope you like the little twist of her going to live with Emma and Snow, I thought Emma and Meagan getting to know each other would really help move Captain Swan along since Meagan knows that Emma will be good for her dad, and Emma will see how much Meagan loves her actual dad and think maybe he’s not so bad. To be clear I’m not changing the timeline, they are still ending up together the same way, but I thought it would be interesting.  
> Also if anyone likes the Emma interlude, I might do more in the future because I love exploring other characters (especially Emma’s) thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am so so sorry it’s been so long. But between finals, Christmas, and a very intense writers block, this chapter was hard to get done. But it’s here! And I hope you like it. Look at the end notes for some updates about when Dad!Killian is coming.

It was my second day in the hospital when I was fully aware I was there. The night before had been a blur. I remember getting beaten up by my father, I remember falling unconscious, I remember waking up in the hospital, and I remember having a conversation with Emma. I remember the events, but not quite the details. All I know is that I’m finally free. I’m free of my father. I never thought I could be, but now I am. And I owe it to Henry. 

Speaking of Henry, he came and visited me that day after he was off school. 

“Hey, Meagan, can I come in?” He asks quietly from the doorway. He seemed a little sheepish and nervous, and I gave a little smile at his nervousness. 

“Of course, Henry,” I replied and he bounds into the room and sits down next to my bed. He still has his backpack on, so he must have come immediately after school. 

“How are you doing?” He says softly. 

“As well as can be expected I guess.” I shrugged and looked down at my hands. I wasn’t sure what to say. What do you say to the boy who saved you? 

“You were missed at school today. Oh speaking of that!” He reaches into his backup and pulls a large card out of it and hands it to me. I open it up and it’s a Get Well Soon card with all of my classmates' names written on it. “Miss Blanchard told them you were in the hospital and suggested they make a card for you.” 

“That-that was nice of her.” I say, choking back the emotion in my voice. We sit there in silence for a few moments before I pluck up the courage to say “I just wanted to say thank you, Henry. You really did help me, in fact you saved me. That was a very brave thing of you to do and I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.” 

“Of course, Meagan! You’re my friend and I care about you. I wouldn’t let anything happen to my friends.” He replied determinedly and I bit my lip and smiled softly. And for the first time I didn’t scoff at his words, because maybe we really were friends. 

We sat there and talked for a while longer, Henry telling me about school that day and what had been going on in town. Our conversation was interrupted, however, by a knock on the door. I turned and saw Ruby peeping her head into the room, smiling sheepishly. 

“Hey, I wanted to come and visit, but I can come back later if I’m interrupting…” 

“No,” Henry jumped up “I should probably get home anyway, my moms expecting me.” He starts packing up his stuff “I’ll see you soon, Meagan.” He smiles and turns to leave. 

“Wait, Henry…” he swivels his head around to face me “Seriously, thank you. And I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you about the book. If you ever wanna show me that storybook, I’d be down.” He smiles so wide that I thought his face might break, and practically skips out the door. Even though I’m not sure how much I believe in his storybook, I owed him, and seeing the smile on his face was worth it. 

“Hey, Meag, how are you feeling?” Ruby asks ever so softly, not really sounding like herself at all. She walked over as she said it, easing herself into the chair. I’m not sure why, but she’s walking on eggshells around me. 

“I’m okay, Ruby, really.” For some reason at that, Ruby started crying. Tears started trickling down her cheeks and she reached over to wrap me in a hug. 

“I’m so sorry, Meagan!” Ruby sobs, sounding heartbroken, tears slipping from her cheeks onto the sheets. She was clutching me as if her life depended on it “I’m sorry I didn’t know!” At that I jerk up and shock fills my face. 

“How did you-did Emma tell you?” 

“No, no she didn’t say anything. She did arrest your dad though, and I’ve been putting things together in my mind.” She dabs her eyes with the back of her hand. I don’t even know how to respond to the news that my dad had been arrested. I wasn’t even sure how to feel, and now with the fact that Ruby knew… 

“Oh.” Is all I say in response. 

“I’m just so sorry. You were hurting and I didn’t even know.” 

“It’s not your fault, Ruby. No one knew. I didn’t want anyone to know.” 

“But why? I-we could’ve helped!” 

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, tracing little swirly patterns in my arm with my hands “I guess just that he’s been doing it basically my whole life. I don’t know anything else. I didn’t think I could ever really get away. Plus, he’s the only family I have, I don’t have anyone else.” 

“Well that’s not true!” Ruby interjects. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You have me! And Granny. You’ve always been like a little sister to me, Meagan. I care about you a lot, so if you need somewhere to stay, you can stay with us.” My eyes start watering at that, and I try to stem the emotions bubbling up inside of me. _They really do care about you. Ruby really is like your sister._ I look up and see her smiling at me through tear-filled eyes. I open my mouth to give her an answer…

“Sorry to interrupt. That’s incredibly nice and a great offer Ruby, but I sorta had another idea.” Emma’s voice carries through the room from where she’s standing at the door. Ruby and I glance at her with curiosity. “I was thinking you should stay with Mary-Margaret and I. I know we already arrested your father, but being around and protected by the sheriff might be best for a while, and Mary-Margaret volunteered at the hospital so she could help you with those injuries. I just think that would be the best idea currently. It’s up to you though, whatever you feel most comfortable with. You don’t even have to stay that long, you can go with Ruby and granny later. Whatever you decide.” She finishes, having come to my bedside by the time she was done talking. I glanced between her and Ruby, my brain frantically running a mile a minute, trying to decide what to do. Although I wanted to go with Ruby, there was something inside me telling me that I should go with Emma. I didn’t know what it was, but I had a feeling I should listen. 

“I think that you’re right, Emma. I think staying with you for right now would be best. Sorry, Rubs, I’ll still come to the diner every day and hang out.” 

“You better!” She demands, nudging my shoulder playfully. 

“Of course, gotta visit my big sis.” I nudge her arm playfully. Ruby gave me a gigantic smile and hugged me once again. 

“I’ll come back later,” Emma whispers, patting me on the shoulder, giving me a wink as she leaves. I watch her go, a ghost of a smile on my face. I have a feeling my life is about to change. 

…

I was in the hospital for a few more days before I was allowed to leave. Emma came to pick me up when I was released, a duffle bag of my stuff that I had asked her to get from my house slung over her shoulder. She signed me out, and helped me into the car, making sure to be careful of my injuries. 

“So, uh, just a little warning,” Emma says as we drive away from the hospital “Mary-Margaret may be a little over welcoming. She’s been cleaning for a week. So, I’m sorry if she’s a little overbearing at first.” 

“That’s… that’s okay,” I reply softly, clutching the duffel bag in my hands. All my possessions,stuffed in one little bag. It seems unreal to me. When we arrived at the loft, Emma helped me out of the car, and up the stairs. As we got closer to the door, I got increasingly more nervous. And I couldn’t exactly figure out why. 

“Meagan! I’m so glad you’re okay and that you’re here!” Miss Blanchard greets us as soon as we step inside the loft. I can see what Emma meant by overwelcoming. The loft is squeaky clean, every surface practically shining, and there’s a banner hanging from the ceiling that has Welcome Meagan!, written on it. Despite it being a little much, it still made me smile. 

“I-uh-thanks, Miss Blanchard,” I stutter out, not sure how else to answer. Emma puts a hand on my shoulder and I struggle not to flinch away. 

“Oh, Meagan, you don’t have to call me that here. When we’re not at school you can call me Mary-Margaret.” 

“Oh, okay, Mary-Margaret.” She smiled cheerfully at my response

“And just so you know, everything here is yours now as well. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything, alright?” She says seriously, and a lump grows in my throat at her kindness. I don’t trust myself to speak without crying, so I just nod “Here, we set up somewhere for you to sleep,” she motions to the right and I see that a couch and coffee table has been moved aside for an air mattress. “It’s not much, but unfortunately we don’t have an extra bedroom, so I hope this will do for now.” 

“No, no, it’s great,” I assure her, setting my duffle down on the bed “It's better than what I had.” I instantly regret saying it as I see Emma and Mary-Margaret look away awkwardly. _Great job, Meagan. Been here less than five minutes and you’re already bringing it up._ I awkwardly cleared my throat, looking down at my duffle. 

“So, are you hungry? I was just thinking about making dinner.” Mary-Margaret asks, clearly trying to change the subject. 

“I could eat.” 

“Great, any preferences?” 

“I’ll honestly eat whatever.” _Since I’m actually getting food._

“Wonderful!” She hums and makes her way towards the kitchen. Emma goes up the stairs to her bedroom, and I sit on the mattress, wondering what my new life is going to be like. 

…

I was only living with Emma and Mary-Margaret for a few days when everything changed once again. Mary-Margaret was arrested for the murder of Kathryn Nolan. 

“I’m so sorry, I had to. I didn’t want to, believe me,” Emma says to me apologetically when I confronted her about it. I hadn’t even heard it from her, it was going all around town. 

“Mary-Margaret didn’t do it, Emma. I’ve known her all my life and she’s like the sweetest person ever. There’s no way she could kill someone!” 

“I know she didn’t, Meagan, I believe her. But until I can prove she didn’t, as the sheriff I have to do my job.” She patted me on the shoulder, and left to go back to the station. I sat down on the couch and sighed deeply, not sure what I could do. I wanted to help Mary-Margaret, but what could I do? I couldn’t even defend myself against my father. I was just laying around the loft for a few hours when, suddenly, the door was yanked open and Henry came rushing in. 

“Henry? What are you doing here?” I asked, noticing that he was very out of breath and seemed almost frantic. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I wasn’t going back until I was healed-and now that Mary-Margaret wasn’t there I didn’t really want to go back. 

“Not when Miss Blanchard is in trouble! We have to help her.” He says determinedly, sitting down on the couch next to me. He doesn’t even let me open my mouth to argue (not that I would have), before continuing “So, in order to help, it’s time for you to really know about the book.” he says seriously, pulling the storybook out of his backpack. I had no idea what his storybook had to do with this, and even though I didn’t really want to listen to it, I knew I had to. I owed Henry for saving me. 

“Alright, Henry, tell me about this book.” I replied and he smiles, stretching the book across our laps “But I have a condition. Nothing about that girl that you think is me, okay? I just don't think I can deal with that right now.” He must understand my serious tone, because he just nods and proceeds to open the book. He flips open to the page he showed me before, with Mary-Margaret and David. 

“Okay, like I said before, Miss Blanchard and David are actually Snow White and Prince Charming. And my mom, Regina, is the evil queen. Everyone in this town is in this book.” 

“I-just-how is that possible? You say we’re all the characters in this book, but if we are, why don’t we remember it?” I asked, leaning in close, trying to gage what was going on in Henry’s head. 

“You were all cursed. By the evil queen. She wanted revenge on Snow and Charming-she wanted to take away everyone’s happy ending so she could have her own. So she cast a dark curse that erased everyone’s memories and sent them all to a land without magic. Where she could rule and have her happy ending.” He finished, looking up at me. I sat there, trying to comprehend what Henry was telling me. _Wow he really believes that this is true._ As much as I didn’t want to, I kept letting Henry tell his story. 

“So, there’s an evil curse? And you’re trying to what-break it?” Henry nods furiously “How are you going to do that?” 

“Well, I’m not necessarily going to- Emma is. She’s the savior.” 

“The what?” 

“The savior, the one destined to break the curse and save everyone. She’s the product of true love, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.” 

“Wait-wait” I cut Henry off “That doesn’t make any sense. Emma is the same age as them-how can she be their daughter?” 

“She was born when the curse was coming, so they sent her in a magic wardrobe to this land, where she grew up without any knowledge of who she was. Due to the curse, no one here in storybrooke ages. So while Emma aged, you all didn’t.” He explains, flipping through the book and showing me pages that I assumed had relevance to his story. I could barely keep up, he was flipping so fast. 

“So, how is this going to help us save Mary-Margaret?” 

“Well, we know by this that the evil queen-my mom-hates her. So by extension we can assume that she’s the one framing her, right? So we just have to prove it.” 

“And how are we going to do that?” 

“I’m not sure, but we have to!” He insists stubbornly, forming a determined expression on his face. He was persistent, I’ll give him that. 

“I agree with you, Henry, but I’m not sure how we can prove it.” Just then, Emma walks in the front door, stopping when she sees Henry. 

“Henry? What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at school?” She asks, glancing at us and then the book on our laps, throwing Henry an unreadable expression. 

“I came here to talk to Meagan, we need to help Miss Blanchard.” He states, shutting the book and standing up. 

“I am helping her, that’s why I’m searching the apartment. But you have to go home.” 

“Not going to happen.” He said determinedly, crossing his arms. 

“Just stay out of the way,” Emma sighs, and starts to look around, searching every corner of the loft. 

“So, what are we looking for?” 

“I'm trying to see, if, maybe, someone broke in. Looking for busted door jambs, broken glass, muddy footprints. That kind of thing.” She replies, examining the door and windows intensely. 

“So, you do think she was set up?” I asked carefully, throwing a conspiring look at Henry. 

“You know I do, Meagan. It’s the only thing that makes sense. The problem is that nobody has a motive.” 

“My mom does.” Henry interrupts. 

“Regina?” 

“She hates Snow White.” Henry shrugs and Emma fixes him with a shocked expression and nudges her shoulder in my direction. “Oh, don’t worry, I told Meagan everything. She’s part of Operation Cobra now, right?” He turns towards me expectantly and even though I don’t know what operation whatever is, I nod, noting Emma’s surprised face. “Anyway, you got a motive, right?” Emma blinks away her shock, clearly putting it away for later before turning towards Henry. 

“Well I don’t think ‘ _She hates Snow White’_ will hold up in court, Henry.” Emma says, flopping down on the bed unceremoniously. I was trying to find something to say to help her, when she suddenly sits up and goes over to the vent behind the bed, pulling the cover off. I see her reach inside and pull something out, but I can’t quite make out what it is.

“Emma-what is it?” She swivels around and unwraps the cloth to reveal a knife. _Oh, that’s not good. Where did that knife come from?_

“Something not good,” Emma answers before practically running out of the loft. _Oh great, that was helpful._ I turned and shrugged in Henry’s direction. He sighs and says 

“I could use some Hot cocoa. Want some?” 

And that’s how we ended up at Granny’s. 

“You two look like hell,” Ruby comments as she serves us our drinks. 

“We’re trying to find a way to help Mary-Margaret, but so far we’ve got nothing.” I groaned, swirling the spoon in my hot chocolate. It was just frustrating me to no end. Mary-Margaret had always been so kind to me-I just wanted to help her. 

“I know how that feels,” Ruby sighs “I was the one who found the heart. I wish I never did.” she confides quietly “But we all can’t give up. We’re all going to help her-no matter what.” She nods and goes off to another table. Henry and I sit there for a couple minutes in silence, barely touching our drinks, when I see a man enter and come towards us. As he gets closer I see who he is. It’s August-the stranger that came to town-the writer. And for some reason he comes up to our table. 

“I don’t think that hot chocolate is going to drink itself. You guys are upset about your teacher aren’t you?” He asks, as I move to sit next to Henry and he slides in across from us. 

“If we are, what’s it to you?” I counter suspiciously. 

“It’s okay, Meagan, he’s cool,” Henry assures me before turning back to August “We are. She didn’t do it, and we don’t understand why people can’t see that.” 

“Because most people just see what’s right in front of them. I don’t think you’re going to find the answers you’re looking for in the bottom of those mugs.” He points to our drinks. And I have to wonder what he’s here for. And I ask him as much. “Relax,” he laughs “You don’t need to be so suspicious. I’m just here to help. To tell you that the answers lie in that book in your bag.” His eyes shift over to Henry’s messenger bag. My eyes grow wide in shock. _How does he know? What does he know?_

“ It’s just a book,” Henry defends. 

“Is it?” August says, a twinkle in his eye. _What is with this guy?_

“Yeah.” 

“I think we all know that’s not the case.” 

“What do you know about it?” Henry asks. And August proceeds to tell us that he also believes that the stories in Henry’s book are real and that Henry just needs to find proof. And I once again wonder what the hell this man is playing at. “Last time I tried looking for proof I got trapped in a sinkhole.” Henry adds, and August shakes his head. 

“There are less dangerous places to look.” He nods toward the book and gets up, patting Henry on the shoulder before leaving. And I’m left to wonder what just happened. 

“What was that all about, Henry?” I asked, turning towards him, but he’s already getting up. 

“I have something I have to do.” He babbles before rushing out. _Yeah, great, thanks for leaving me here._ I sigh resignedly before emptying my mug and going back to the loft for the night. 

…

_I’m back at my old house._

_“What? What am I doing here?” I step around my living room to see that nothing’s changed. The furniture is still overthrown, glass is all over the floor, and so is blood. A lot of blood. A lot of my blood. I nearly get sick just looking at it._

_“I’m not surprised. You were always so weak.” A voice says from behind me. A voice that sounds shivers down my spine. I whirl around to face my father._

_“What are you doing here, Dad? You’re supposed to be in prison, you’re not allowed anywhere near me.” I say, trying to keep all the fear out of my voice, but failing._

_“I escaped.” He replies, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he steps towards me. I stumble, trying to back up against the wall “I escaped and killed the sheriff, the teacher, that annoying child, and that friend of yours from the diner. Now there’s no one left who can help you. You’re stuck here and no one will save you.” No, no no no no._

_“You’re lying!” I spat, even though I could feel he wasn’t “You didn’t! You monster!” I screamed, tears starting to run down my face. He killed everyone. Everyone that I cared about. Everyone that helped me._

_“I may be a monster, but at least I’m not weak.” He steps closer, getting right up in my face “At least I didn’t get your mother killed. You’re weak and you’re a coward. And you deserve this.” And then he starts hitting me as hard as he can. Repeatedly. Punching, kicking, slapping. Anything he can to hurt me. And I start screaming. For anyone, everyone to come and help me. But there’s no one left. Yet still I scream. As he hits, and punches, and slaps, and kicks._

_“Meagan?” I swear I hear a voice through the pain “Meagan?_ Meagan!!!” Suddenly my eyes open and I shoot up out of bed, the scream dying on my lips. I could feel the sweat dripping down my forehead, but nothing else. _Oh my god, it was just a dream_ I think in relief as I wipe the sweat off with the back of my hand. I glanced up to see Emma at the foot of my bed, having awoken me from my dream. 

“I’m-uh-I’m so sorry,” I stutter out embarrassingly. _I can’t believe she heard me. God what she must think._

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Emma says comfortingly, but I scoot away, curling up on myself. 

“Yeah, I do. I’m sorry I woke you up.” 

“It’s okay, really. It happens.” 

“I didn’t mean to scream, it just sort of happened” I kept babbling until Emma interrupted me. 

“Meagan! Stop apologizing. It’s normal to have nightmares, lots of people have them.” 

“But I shouldn’t-I don’t know why.” 

“You’ve been through a really traumatic experience. Hell, I would be surprised if you didn’t have nightmares.” She comments. But I can’t seem to shake out of my thoughts, of what my dream dad said. 

“But I should be able to handle this. I’m out of there. Maybe he was right, I am weak.” I mutter and lay my head down on my arms. There’s a good minute of silence before Emma speaks again. 

“If there’s one thing that you aren’t-it’s weak. You’re one of the strongest people I know.” That takes me by surprise and I look up at her in shock “What you’ve been through is hard for anyone, but especially someone of your age, and you’ve been handling this surprisingly well.” Emma shifts uncomfortably a little before clearing her throat and continuing “Look, I grew up in an orphanage, so I saw a lot. I’ve seen kids like you before. I’ve seen how they were affected by what happened to them. So believe me when I say that you’re handling this well. But also believe me when I say that what you went through was traumatic, and trauma doesn’t just go away. It’s going to be there for a long time, but it will get better. You just need time and help. And you have people willing to help you.” 

“And I appreciate that, but I just feel bad. You have so much going on with Mary-Margaret, you shouldn’t have to add my problems onto your plate.” I replied, fidgeting with my blanket. 

“Just because I’m helping Mary-Margaret doesn’t mean I can’t also help you. I promised you that I would help you and I intend to keep that promise.” She assures me, gently setting her hand down on my leg “Plus, Mary-Margaret really likes you, so she would insist on me helping you. Don’t feel bad asking for help, okay?” I don’t trust myself to speak so I just nod and she smiles “Good. Now, did you want to tell me about the dream?” 

“I don’t think I can,” I admit softly “But I also don’t think I can go back to sleep, so distract me? How’s the case going?” 

“Not great,” Emma lets out a long drawn out sigh “Mary-Margaret agreed to let Mr.Gold help her.” 

“What? She can’t do that. He can’t be trusted.” I insist, not even sure why. Emma gives me a strange look.

“I know that, but my question is why do you think that?” 

“Honestly, I’m not even sure. I just have a gut feeling.” 

“Well, trust those gut feelings, kid. They might come in handy one day.” 

…

“ I have proof!” Henry calls as he enters the loft the next day, waving a keychain with several skeleton keys on it around excitedly “This is how my mom got into your apartment and framed Miss Blanchard.” 

“Did you steal these from her office?” Emma asks, snatching the keys from his grasp. 

“Yeah, the book said they could open any door.” 

“There is no way these would fit.” Emma says, examining them closely. 

“We have to try.” Henry insists, taking the key ring and trying several keys, all of them failing to unlock the door-until he got to the last one. The last key that fit perfectly and unlocked the loft door. “Do you believe now?” He asks conspiratorially as Emma reaches down and grabs the keys in surprise. 

“Not bad, kid, not bad at all.” She comments as she slides on her signature red leather jacket and exits once again. 

“I gotta say, Henry, that was pretty awesome,” I say, continually impressed by this kids determination. Henry smiles gleefully at my praise before his face drops a little. 

“You look tired, are you okay?” He asked worriedly, and I gotta say I’m touched by his concern.

“Yeah, I just didn’t sleep well, that’s all.” 

“Oh. Bad dreams?” _Jeez this kid’s good. Is he reading my mind or something?_

“Yeah.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, that sucks. I sometimes have bad dreams too. Do you know what I do when I have bad dreams? I close my eyes and imagine what’s going to happen in the future. Like my mom breaking the curse and reuniting our family. It gives me hope.” He shrugs and makes to follow Emma. And I have to admit-even though I don’t believe in Henry’s crazy story-there’s something about Henry’s passion and determination that makes you want to. 

Emma still wasn’t back by the time I went to sleep, and when I woke up the next day, I noticed that she hadn’t come home at all. That’s when I started to get a little worried. _I should go to the station and see if she needs anything._ So that’s what I did. I grabbed some food from the fridge (figuring she’d be hungry), shoved in it a container, and walked over to the station. I didn’t see her car, but even if she wasn’t there, at least I could visit Mary-Margaret. 

“Hello?” I called as I thrust open the door to the station “Hello? Emma, are you here?” I walked down the hallway towards her desk, yet she wasn’t there. And neither was Mary-Margaret. _Where the heck is she? Did Emma take her somewhere? What’s going on?_

“Well, if it isn’t my daughter. It’s about time you came to see me.” My fathers voice came from across the room, making me freeze where I was standing. _I’m an idiot. On my god I’m an idiot. Of course he would be here, why didn’t I think that he would be here?_ I slowly whirl around to face him. He’s standing, leaning up against the cell door, hand hanging out the bars, fixing me with a cold smirk. Even behind bars, he’s still as intimidating as ever. _Don’t let him get to you, Meagan. You’re strong, Emma believes in you, you can believe in yourself._ I breathe in and out slowly to calm myself down before speaking. 

“I’m not here for you,” I respond coldly, surprised by my sudden bravery. 

“Oh yeah, your school teacher,” he huffs out a laugh. “She was gone when I woke up this morning, broke out or something. Not that she would tell me, she hated me for some reason.” He shrugs, like he didn’t know why. And his comment made my blood boil. I set aside the Mary-Margaret worries for later. 

“For some reason??? Maybe the reason is that you abused me? A child! Your own daughter! Could that be the reason?” I snapped out, getting louder with each word, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. 

“Please, it’s not abuse if you deserve it. And it’s none of her business either way.” 

“I did NOT deserve it! And it is her business, she’s a teacher, she cares about her students. She cares more about me than you do! And you’re my own father!” I shouted, the anger blossoming from my chest and bursting forth. “I never deserved what you did to me! You are sad and pathetic and angry, and you will never change. You are going to rot in this cell for the rest of your life, and I hope that I never have to see you ever again.” I can’t handle being around him any longer, so I abruptly exit the station and run back to the loft as fast as I possibly can. When I get there, I slam the door shut behind me and promptly collapse on my bed. I curl myself into a tight ball and try not to cry, try to breathe and not panic. _I can’t believe I did that, I can’t believe he was there, that I forget he would be. God, why, why did I go there?_

I laid on that bed for what seemed like hours before I heard the keys in the door. I shot up and saw red leather before I even saw her. 

“Emma! You’re okay!” I cry out in relief, rushing over to her, nearly falling as I do “You were gone for a long time. Is everything okay? What happened to Mary-Margaret?” 

“Woah, woah, calm down. Yes, I’m okay. As to what happened-now that’s a long story.” Emma sighs, rubbing her forehead with her fingers in exhaustion. 

“Tell me the short version?” She laughs and says 

“Okay, let’s sit.” She takes me over to the island and we plop down on the stools “So what happened is that Mary-Margaret escaped for a while, with the help of Gold. So I went out to look for her, but somehow ended up getting captured by this guy named Jefferson, who also had somehow captured Mary-Margaret. He wanted me to fix his magic hat so he could see his daughter again? Yeah I had no idea what was going on either. But long story short, we managed to escape but he was gone. So I got Mary-Margaret back to the station before Regina could even know she was gone.” 

“Damn.” Is all I could say after that. 

“Yeah, it was a crazy day.” 

“I kind of had an interesting day as well,” I add, not sure why I was going to tell her, but feeling the need to. She gives me her full undivided attention “Yeah, I uh saw my dad.” 

“You what?” 

“I went to the station to look for you, totally forgetting he was there, and we had a conversation.” 

“Are you alright?” She asks, looking me up and down concernedly. 

“I am, really. It was tough, but I think it helped me in the end.” And it did, I felt lighter. 

“Well, it’s been a long day, for both of us. We need to relax. How about I order a pizza and we watch a movie?” I was surprised by Emma’s offer, I had never really spent that kind of time with Emma before. Just the two of us hanging out and having fun. 

“Yeah, I would actually like that a lot.” Emma smiles and picks up her phone to call the pizza place. When the pizza gets here, we both launch ourselves unceremoniously on the couch, and watch some random movie that Emma liked when she was a kid. We end up laughing and talking a lot, and it’s the most fun that I’ve had in a long time. Even after the movie is over, we continue to laugh and talk into the night. “Thanks, Emma.” I say once we’ve quieted down “Thanks for this. I’ve never really done something like this before.” 

“Anytime. You’re a good kid, Meagan. I’m glad I got to meet you.” Our conversation is suddenly interrupted by Emma’s phone ringing. “Huh, wonder who could be calling this late at night. Hello?” She answers, her wine glass swinging from her hand. As she listens her eyes grow wide and she drops the phone in surprise. 

“Emma? Emma, what is it?” 

“It’s Kathryn Nolan. She was found, and she’s alive.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you liked that! We’re almost at the end of season 1! One more chapter before the curse breaks and we get some Dad!Killian! I am very excited to write it and I hope you’re excited to read it. Now that I’m over my writers block I hope to get better on writing and updating, but school is starting back up soon, so I don’t know. Just please be patient with me. I haven’t abandoned this story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter so soon? *Gasp. I know I’m as surprised as you all. But I worked really hard and I hope you guys like this chapter!

“What!?” I exclaim as Emma continues to stare at the phone in shock “She’s alive?” 

“Yes! Ruby found her! She’s on her way to the hospital now.” 

“That means-“ 

“Mary-Margaret is free!” Emma says joyfully “I have to go-I have to go take care of this.” 

“Go-go!” I insist, shoving her leg lightly as she rushes out the door, throwing her red jacket on as she leaves. _Oh thank god, she’s alive. She’s alive and Mary-Margaret is going to be okay._ I slump down on the couch, letting out a sigh of relief. This was over, things could start to get back to normal-or at least as normal as things could be right now. 

If only I had known how abnormal everything was about to get. 

…

It was only when I woke up the next morning that I realized I had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Emma. And she wasn’t home. _Probably at the hospital or the station. She has a lot to do._ I yawned and got up, stretching out my legs and throwing the blanket back on the couch. I quickly got in the shower and threw on some of the new clothes Mary-Margaret had gotten me after I moved in. She had taken me out and we had spent the day shopping for new clothes. No one had ever done that for me, and she would never know how much I appreciated it. Now that she would be coming back to the loft soon, I wanted to do something for her. I wasn’t sure what, but I knew just who to ask. 

“Morning, Rubs,” I called as I walked into the diner and plopped myself down on one of the stools at the counter. There weren’t a lot of people this morning, it was relatively quiet-which was surprising. 

“Meagan!” She exclaimed, rushing up next to me “You’ll never believe what happened!” 

“You found Kathryn Nolan,” I interrupted “I know, Rubs. I live with Emma now.” 

“Oh, right. Well, anyway, that means Mary-Margaret didn’t kill her and she can get out!” 

“That’s actually what I came here to talk to you about. She’s done a lot for me, and now that she’s getting out I think we should do something for her. That she needs and deserves it.” 

“Oh my gosh, Meagan, you’re a genius!” She gushes “We should throw her a little homecoming party! Gather her friends and show her that we supported her and that we’ve been there to her.” 

“Are you sure you’re not the genius?” I tease, my mood being lifted by Ruby’s blinding energy. 

“Seriously, Granny can cook up some food, and we’ll go around town and gather people for the party. C'mon we’ve gotta move quick.” She goes over to Granny, who instantly agrees with our plan and starts to cook right away. Ruby and I leave and walk around town, finding friends and people who like Mary-Margaret, who believed she was innocent, and they all are excited to come to the party. Some of them offer to bring food and a welcome home poster. It’s all very sweet and it’s nice to see people come together after being so divided. “Okay, I’m going to go help Granny, and we’ll meet you back at the loft.” Ruby says after we’ve invited everyone we wanted to the party. I nodded and sent Ruby on her way, starting to walk back to the loft. I mostly kept my head down as I walked, focusing on the ground and kicking rocks with my shoes. But for some reason, I decided to look up when I got close to Gold’s shop and saw something very suspicious. Regina was opening the door to Gold’s shop, carefully checking around before ducking inside. _What is she up to?_ I wasn’t sure why, but my gut told me to find out what she was up to, and Emma told me to trust my gut. It was then I remembered that Gold had a back door to his shop, and was probably distracted enough by Regina that I could slip in. So, I snuck around the building and slipped in the back door, making sure to be the quietest I had ever been. I couldn’t imagine what they would do if they caught me. I snuck up to the wall and leaned against it, adjusting until I could hear the conversation. 

“You broke our deal.” Regina’s clear, crisp voice cut through the air like a knife. And she sounded pissed, really pissed. _Deal, what deal?_

“I’ve broken one deal in my life dear-and unfortunately it wasn’t this one.” Gold replies in his always infuriatingly calm tone. _How is he always so calm and collected?_

“Kathryn was supposed to die and Mary-Margaret was supposed to get the blame!” Regina snapped back and I nearly gasped out loud at the admission. I had expected that Regina was to blame-but to hear it from her own mouth-was shocking to say the least. _She admitted it out loud? Why? But also-holy shit. What do I do? Do I tell Emma? Yes of course I should tell Emma. But how? She would get so mad that I eavesdropped. But she deserves to know. Would she even believe me?_ With all these thoughts swirling in my head, I didn’t even notice I was missing the conversation. Until I heard this. 

“It's all gonna lead to me, isn't it? You bastard! This isn't making any sense. You and I - we've been in this together. From the start.” Regina says furiously-and I can’t say I’m surprised at that. It was always Gold. It always leads back to him-he couldn’t be trusted. 

“Oh have me?” Rumple asks innocently. 

“You created the curse for me!” She shouts and that sentence shook me to my core. _Curse? Like- the curse that Henry was talking about? That- can’t be right? This can’t be real can it? Of course not-of course it’s not real. But then-why would she be talking about it? _I wasn’t even sure what to think. I’m pretty sure I’m freaking out. 

“Yes, and it’s about time you said thank you.” At his reply, I don’t think I can listen anymore and sneak back out the door. I start running back to the loft as fast as I can-not sure what to do-not sure what I heard-not sure what to think. I’m stuck between focusing on her confession and the mention of the curse. But I can’t think on that for long, because when I got back to the loft-everyone was there. 

“There you are! Where have you been? Mary-Margaret’s gonna be here any minute.” Ruby asks, running over to me, glancing me over. 

“I’m fine, just got a little distracted on the way. I can’t believe everyone got here so fast.” I muttered, glancing around at all the people that had gathered while I was gone. Suddenly we heard keys in the door and everyone turns around quickly to greet her. 

“Surprise!” We all shouted as Mary-Margaret walked through the door. She stares at all of us in shock, glancing between all the people and the big welcome home banner hanging from the ceiling. 

“What’s this?” She asks, her eyes glistening. 

“We wanted to throw you a little welcome home party, because we’re happy for you!” Ruby replies, walking over and throwing her arms around Mary-Margaret excitedly “It was Meagan’s idea, actually.”

“Really?” Mary-Margaret says letting go of Ruby and coming over to me. 

“Yeah, you’ve just been so great since the whole thing with my dad, and I wanted to do something for you.” I shrugged nonchalantly. 

“You’re a sweet girl, Meagan,” She says, pulling me into a quick hug before going to greet the other guests. And I had to admit-it made me smile. As much as I wanted to tell Emma what I heard, it could wait until after. I didn’t want to ruin this party Mary-Margaret so deserved. “All of this-for me?” I can hear her gush as she makes her way around the room. 

“You’ve got a lot of friends.” Emma replies, her voice carrying across the room. And she did. She was a kind, caring person who helped everyone. Of course she had all these friends-she deserved them. 

“You gonna come and join the party or what?” Ruby called to me, and I laughed, making my way over to her and some other guests. And I just let myself relax and enjoy the party. Talking to people and eating Granny’s delicious food. A little while into the night, I noticed Henry sitting on the couch, holding a card and present in his hands, and decided to join him. 

“Hey,” I said, sitting down next to him “What’s that you got?” 

“It’s a card from the whole class for Miss Blanchard, and I got her a little present,” he replies, waving the little box at me. 

“That’s nice of you.” We sit there in silence for a minute before Henry pipes up with 

“So Operation Cobra got a big success today.” 

“You know, you haven’t told me what Operation Cobra actually is.” 

“Oh! Operation Cobra is what my mom and I call our plan to break the curse. We are-or we were the only ones in on it-until I told you of course. And now you’re a part of it. So we got a success today.” He says cheerfully, jumping up off the couch and going to give Mary-Margaret his present. After hearing Regina’s words, I was questioning if this supposed curse was actually real. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I was just glad to be a part of something. I shook my head out of the thoughts and let myself go back to enjoying the party. A couple hours and some drama later, everyone had gone and Mary-Margaret had gone to sleep after a long day. 

“You did a good thing today, kid,” Emma says once it was just the two of us. She pats me on the shoulder, and I’m about to tell her what I heard, when she yawns and says sleepily “Goodnight, kid” before making her way upstairs. _It’s okay, Meagan, you can just tell her in the morning._

Although Emma isn’t there when I wake up. _She must be at the station already,_ I yawned, stretching as I sat up in my bed _I’ll go meet her there._ As I get up, I notice a smell wafting from the kitchen and turn around to see Mary-Margaret making pancakes. 

“Good morning,” she hums, flipping some on a plate and setting the plate in front of one of the stools “Sit, eat.” _I could get used to this_ I think as I dig into the pancakes- which are delicious. 

“Not to offend-because these are amazing-but aren’t you supposed to be at school and not making pancakes?” I asked, shoveling more food into my mouth. I hadn’t realized how hungry I actually was. 

“I thought I would give it a few days before I went back, for people to get over this whole thing,” she waves her spatula in the air “So I’m cooking to fill the time. Now that I have people to cook for. Although, Emma didn’t get any,” she sighs unhappily. 

“I can take some to her! I need to get out, anyway,” I blurt out, happy to get an excuse to go there. 

“You would? I meant what I said last night, you really are so sweet.” She puts some pancakes in a container and hands them to me, smiling gratefully. I take them and whirl out the door, walking briskly to the station. _I need to tell Emma, she needs to know what I heard. Maybe I could actually help her solve a case! How cool would that be?_ I yanked open the door and bounded down the hallway, Emma’s head popping up when she heard me. 

“Hey, Meagan, what are you doing here? What have you got there?” She directs her head to the box in my hands. 

“Mary-Margaret made pancakes and wanted me to bring them to you,” I set them gently on her desk “But that’s not the reason I’m here actually-.” I stop abruptly when I notice something weird-my father’s not in the cell “What happened to my dad?” I ask, pointing to the now empty cell. 

“Don’t worry, he didn’t escape or anything. I couldn’t really keep him here seeing this isn’t supposed to be a permanent jail, and since we don’t have an actual prison, I sent him to the only place I really could. The psychiatrist hospital. He’s in a locked psych ward with no chance of escaping.” She assures me and I have no idea how to respond to that. 

“Oh-uh, okay. That’s good I guess,” I respond awkwardly, before remembering what I was really here for “Anyways, that’s not what I’m here about. I have some information for you.” She gives me a strange look, but motions for me to sit down “So, don’t get mad, but I saw Regina walking into Gold’s shop looking pretty so suspicious. So I eavesdropped on them.” 

“Meagan! That was really dangerous, what if they caught you?” She chides, actually looking concerned. It was kinda nice having someone concerned about me. 

“I know, I know. But I heard a pretty important conversation-.” I then rely what I heard-leaving out the parts about the curse-I didn’t think she would want to hear about that right now. I watch as Emma’s eyes grow wide as I go on. When I finish, she’s silent for a moment before clearing her throat and saying 

“So, you’re telling me that you overheard Regina admit to framing Mary-Margaret to Gold-who she is conspiring with?” 

“Yeah, pretty much.” 

“Wow, this is a lot,” Emma sighs, running her hands across her face “I mean, I figured it was Regina, but to actually hear it, and for her to be conspiring with Gold? That’s a lot to take in.” But there’s no time to process it, because the door opens and in walks the little conspirator herself. 

“Congratulations, Sheriff Swan. There's about to be a big break in your case. You just got yourself a confession. But, I want you to listen to the whole explanation, so you understand why this happened.” Regina gloats as she walks inside, high heels clacking against the tile floor. _Oh boy, this can’t be good._

“I’ll hang on to every word you say,” Emma deadpans before sending me a look that says _Wait out in the hall._ I nod and trudge slowly out the doorway, Regina giving me a suspicious look as I pass. _Oh god is she on to me? No, she can’t be. She had no idea I was there. Just act natural, don’t look suspicious._ I glide past her and out the door into the hall, not giving her a single glance. I just sit there for a while, trying to hear what’s going on inside, but I can’t. I huff annoyingly and lean back against the wall. I’m there for a few more minutes before Emma comes barreling out the door, Regina in tow, both clearly forgetting I was there. “Well that was the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard,” she spits out and I have to wonder, _what the hell happened._

“That can’t be true,” Regina quips back. 

“That poor man. I know, you're behind all this. I understand that you own the game, and you've set the boards so that no one else can win. But I am about to start playing an entirely different game.” Emma now takes a step closer to Regina, getting right up in her face “I don't care about what happens to you. I don't care about what happens to me. All I care about is my kid. And you are going to leave him alone.” She looks pissed as ever, and I look back and forth between them to try and gauge what’s going on. 

“Am I?” 

“Uh-uh. I'm talking. You're a sociopath, lady. You tried to take away someone that I love. And now... I'm going to take away someone you love. I am taking back my son.” Emma finishes fiercely, and I can’t help but cheer silently, but also fear for what’s going to happen. She whips around and stalks towards me “Lets go.” She doesn’t even stop and I quickly follow her out, rushing to keep up with her, leaving Regina in the dust. 

“Emma, what’s going on? What happened in there?” I ask, hurriedly and very confusedly, trying to keep up with her. 

“Regina somehow got Sydney to confess to framing Mary-Margaret.” 

“What?! But- she did it! We know she did it!” 

“Unfortunately, your eavesdropping won’t hold up in court.” 

“So what are you going to do?” 

“What I said-I’m getting Henry away from that monster. I’m getting him back,” she states, and I see the determined look in her eye. There is no way Regina can stop her. 

“Okay, so how are you going to do that?” 

“Not quite sure yet. But I’ll find a way.” 

…

“No-absolutely not.” Mary-Margaret states flatly. The next morning, Emma had explained the plan she came up with to us “You are not asking Gold for help!” 

“Why not?” Emma asks in an agitated tone. 

“Because you can’t trust him!” She exclaims, and I can’t help but agree with her. 

“I trust him more than Regina!” 

“Are you kidding, Emma? Did you not hear what I said? Gold was conspiring with Regina.” I said. 

“Yes, but he double crossed her. Maybe he’ll help me to hurt her.”

“I don’t think you can depend on that, Emma. You can’t trust that he’ll even help you, let alone not double cross you. Trust me please, we’ll find another way, but you can’t trust him.” I pleaded, praying that she would listen to me. Once again, I didn’t even know why, but somehow I knew he couldn’t be trusted. 

“I suppose you’re right,” Emma sighs. Suddenly her phone starts ringing and she picks it up, walking to the other side of the room to talk “That was Henry,” she says when she’s finished “He wants to meet to talk about something. I’ll talk to you guys later when I have a better plan.” She abruptly exits after that. 

“Well, that was-eventful,” Mary-Margaret sighs “I guess we better get to school, Meagan.” Her and I decided last night that today would be both our first days back at school. Hoping that our town scandals would cancel each other out. I nod and grab the new backpack that she had gotten for me. And we walked to the school together. “You ready?” She asks as we reach the doors. I breathe in and out, give a single nod, and in we walk. At once the hallways get quieter as some people take to staring at us as we pass. _Just ignore them, just ignore them, everything is fine,_ I reminded myself, keeping my head up and walking right past. Eventually we arrive in the classroom and I let out a sigh of relief as the students greet us happily, Henry being the first in line. And the rest of class goes relatively smoothly. 

It’s at recess when everything goes wrong. 

Henry and I were sitting on one of the benches just talking, when suddenly he glanced behind him and his eyes narrowed. 

“What’s she doing here?” He asks suspiciously, getting up suddenly and stalking off. 

“Wait-Henry!” I call and follow him to see Regina standing by Mary-Margaret talking to her. _What is she doing here? _

“What are you doing here?” I can hear him say as I catch up and stand right next to him. 

“You forgot your lunchbox,” she says, clearing her throat and handing it to him. 

“Thanks,” he reaches out and takes it from her, that suspicious look still on his face. Regina takes him by the shoulders and leads him a little ways away, obviously wanting to talk to him in private. They talk for a minute before I can see anger grow on Henry’s face and he gets up in her face before stomping away. As he passes, he grabs my arm and pulls me with him. 

“Henry, what was that about?” I ask as we walk back towards the school. 

“She was trying to get me to transfer from Miss Blanchards class. She’s up to something, something big. We have to figure out what.” 

…

It was pretty late when I got back to the loft, having spent the afternoon at Granny’s with Ruby and Henry. We had tried to devise a plan to stop whatever Regina’s plan was-put not knowing her plan made that kind of hard. When I walked inside the loft, I noticed something was wrong right away. Mary-Margaret was sitting on the couch, holding a cup of tea. And it looked like she had been crying. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask, immediately throwing my backpack down on the floor and joining her on the couch. 

“Emma’s gone,” she replies tearfully 

“What!?” 

“All her stuff is gone. She left.” I can’t even comprehend what she just said. _Emma left? She left? Why would she just up and leave? Without saying anything-without saying goodbye to Henry._ And that’s when I remember what Emma had said _I’m taking my son back._

“Oh my god, she went on the run. She’s taking Henry and running.” I stumble out, trying to make sense of the words. Mary-Margaret just looks at me in shock. “I can’t believe she did this! I can’t believe she just left! No goodbye or anything! How could she do this to Henry, to you, to me!” I put my face into my hands, but I’m too angry for tears. “She promised to help me, what am I supposed to do now?” I cried, just letting all my emotions out. I was so overcome with my emotions that I didn’t even feel Mary-Margaret put her hands over mine. 

“Meagan, Meagan, look at me,” I can hear her say and glance up at her to see a gentle look on her face “Just because Emma is gone, that doesn’t mean I’ll kick you out. You are still welcome here, you can still live here. I’ll help you. You still have people, okay?” At that she reaches over and envelopes me in a hug and I let her hug me. I had never really let many people hug me before, but now I needed it. “I’m going to make you some tea, okay?” She says when we let go and I nod. A little while later, a warm mug is placed in my hands, and I accept it gratefully. We spend the rest of the night in silence, sipping our tea and just being in each other’s company. 

…

I was awoken by the sounds of voices. Loud voices that sounded very upset. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I heard Mary-Margaret yell. Curious, I sat up off the couch, the blanket that she must have placed over me sliding off. I peered over the couch to see Mary-Margaret arguing with-Emma. She was back. She didn’t leave after all. _But she was going to,_ The voice inside my head reminded me, replacing some of my relief with anger. 

“I want what’s best for him,” Emma argues, clearly talking about Henry. _So I was right, she was going to take him and run._

“And running is what's best for him? Or is that what's best for you? You're reverting, Emma. Into the person you were before you got here and I thought you'd changed.” 

“Well, you thought wrong.” Emma says, crossing her arms and looking down at the floor. 

“Regardless, you have to do what’s right for Henry.” Mary-Margaret replies, giving her a pointed look. 

“What’s that?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. _You’re_ his mother. That’s _your_ job. Figure it out,” she snaps back sharply, grabbing her purse and stalking towards the door. “I’ll see you later, Meagan,” she says to me in a softer tone before heading out, the door slamming shut behind her. I stared after her for a minute before turning and facing Emma, who was looking sadly at me. Well I was glad she didn’t actually leave, a big part of me was still angry at her for thinking about it. 

“Hey, kid,” she says, sitting down directly across from me, actually having the decency to look guilty. I didn’t want to be angry, but I couldn’t help it. 

“Why?” I asked simply, getting straight to the point. Emma sighs and shifts uncomfortably a little before starting to talk.

“Look, I just wanted what’s best for Henry. I didn’t know what else to do so I panicked and tried to do what I could at the moment. I know that’s no excuse and I’m sorry-“ 

“You’re right, that is no excuse,” I interrupted “Why didn’t you end up doing it? No, you know what that doesn’t matter. Because you almost did it. You almost left. Even I know that wasn’t a great idea and I'm 12!” I shouted, letting my emotions burst forth “You would be fugitives, on the run for kidnapping! Not to mention leaving Mary-Margaret without a goodbye! Leaving me!” I spit out, my voice cracking at the last word, causing Emma to look at me strangely. 

“What’s this about, Meagan?” She asks softly and I can’t help but get even angrier at her tone. 

“I know, I know that this isn’t about me! You have Henry and he’s obviously more important-but you promised me. You promised that you would help me and protect me from my dad, and you were just gonna leave like that! I thought you were better, I thought you understood! I thought you cared about me at least a little! But I guess I was wrong.” I finished coldly, getting up and walking out the door, leaving Emma behind, not caring what she would have to say. I didn’t even know where I was walking to, I just had to walk away. I could feel tears start streaming down my face as I walked. I knew it wasn’t fair to put all of that on Emma, but I couldn’t help it. For the first time in my life I had been feeling safe, been feeling comfortable, like I could maybe find a home. But hearing that Emma was gone had made me fear that all that could be gone. And I couldn’t help but be angry at her for making me feel like that. 

“Meagan! Meagan!” I heard a voice behind me and whipped around to see Henry running at me at full speed, only stopping when he caught up to me. 

“What is it, Henry?” I asked, quickly wiping my tears away so he wouldn’t see. 

“We need to have an Operation Cobra meeting right away! My mom tried to leave! We need to break the curse like now!” He exclaims, trying to grab my arm and pull me with him. _I do not have the energy to do this right now._

“Henry, I don’t think this is the best time…” I try to explain to him patiently. 

“You don’t get it, this is urgent. We need a plan and we need it now.” He keeps talking and talking, not listening to anything I’m saying, and suddenly I can’t handle it anymore. 

“Henry!” I shouted very, very loudly, which instantly gets him to stop and stare at me confused “Henry, I am sorry, but I can’t do this right now. I can’t pretend to believe in some made up curse!” I instantly regret my words. 

“You-you don’t believe me,” he says, letting go of my arm, staring at me with a heartbroken look on his face, “I thought you believed me. I thought you were different. But you’re just like everyone else in this town!” He runs off after that. 

“Henry, Henry, wait!” I call after him, but it’s no use. He’s already gone. _Great, Meagan, just great. Starting a fight with two people that you care about on the same day. You’re doing great,_ I sighed heavily and started walking to Granny’s. I needed some comfort food, and companionship from people I didn’t fight with. I entered the diner, navigating the crowd that seemed to be taking over the place today and slid onto the stools to wait for Ruby. 

“Hey, Meagan, what can I do for you?” Granny suddenly appears in front of me, nearly making me jump. 

“Oh-uh-hey, Granny.” I waved awkwardly to her “I was just waiting for Ruby.” 

“Ruby’s out running some errands for me, so she won’t be back for a while.” Granny replies, throwing her towel over her shoulder and cleaning up some dishes. 

“Oh. I’ll just wait I guess.” At that I can feel Granny’s stare boring into me. 

“Are you okay, sweetie?” She asks after a while of me just sitting there and her cleaning. 

“No,” I sighed. Something about Granny just made me want to talk to her, so I did “I had fights with Emma and Henry today, and I can’t help but feel that I ruined those relationships. They’ve been so great to me ever since my dad got arrested, heck they were the ones that saved me from him! I was starting to feel safe and happy, but of course it had to be ruined.” I moaned and planted my face down on my arms. 

“Oh, sweetie,” I can feel Granny stop working and sit down beside me “Those relationships aren’t ruined.” 

“How do you know?” I ask, glancing up at her from my position. 

“You just had a fight. I know you probably don’t understand because of the relationship you and your father had, but everyone has fights. Hell, Ruby and I have had more fights then I can count! But, we always make up. Because that’s what you do when you have people you care about. You fight and then make up. It’ll take some time, but eventually all will be forgiven.” 

“Thanks, Granny,” I say, feeling a whole lot better than I had. 

“Anytime, dear.” She pats my arm comfortingly. 

“Since I’m going to be here for a while, want any help?” 

“Oh no, I couldn’t ask that! You just sit and I’ll bring you some food.” And that’s why I like her. She knows exactly what I need. I sit there for a while, just enjoying some great food (Granny made my favorite), and listening to the bustle of the diner. I’m pretty calmed down when Ruby comes rushing in, disturbing all of that. 

“Granny! Meagan! Something terrible happened! Henry’s in the hospital!” I choked on the drink I had just been trying to swallow, it spurting out my mouth. 

“WHAT!?”

“What happened?” 

“I don’t know! He just collapsed on the sidewalk!” Ruby exclaims, her eyes wide and worried. _Oh my god, oh my god. No, no, this can’t be happening._

“I have to go!” I jump up suddenly and rush out the door, knowing what I have to do. I have to go see Henry. I have to know if he’s okay. I run faster than I’ve ever run before and make it to the hospital in record time. “Henry Mills, where is he?” I blurt out hurriedly as I get to the front desk. 

“Are you family?” The receptionist asks calmly. 

“No, but what does that matter?” 

“Only family are allowed in right now.” 

“Oh-screw that!” I race past her, ignoring her yelling after me, and start frantically looking around for his room. And that’s when I saw Emma. Putting aside our fight from earlier, I rush over to her “Emma, what happened?” 

“Excuse me, you can’t be back here!” I hear a nurse say, but Emma waves her hand to let them know that it was okay. 

“What are you doing here?” She asks, putting her hands on my shoulder and leading me to sit down in a chair outside the room. 

“I had to come as soon as I heard that Henry was here. I have to know that he’s okay. Please, tell me what happened.” I plead, and it seems like Emma can’t ignore my plea. 

“He was poisoned,” she says, an angry look passing over her face. 

“What? How?” _Poisoned? How the hell would he get poisoned._

“Regina. She gave me something that I was supposed to eat that was poisoned. But Henry ate it. It was supposed to be me.” I can see the guilt written all over her face. 

“It’s not your fault,” I assure her “But why would Regina try and poison you?” Before she can answer I see Regina step out of Henry’s room. 

“Come on, Miss Swan,” she bites out, ignoring me “we have something to do.”

“You’re working with her? She tried to poison you! She poisoned Henry!” 

“Because, despite how evil she may seem, she does really care about Henry. And in order to save Henry we have to do something, something together.” 

“What do you have to..” and suddenly I know. I know exactly what she means “The curse, it’s real. It’s real and you have to break it.” Emma seems surprised that I made the connection that quickly, but settles for a nod. “I want to help.” 

“No,no. It’s too dangerous, you have to stay here.”

“Emma, I can’t just stay here! I need to help!” _I need to make up for not believing him._

“But you will be helping, I need you to stay here and look after Henry, alright? I don’t want him to be alone.” She says seriously, looking me directly in the eye. 

“But, why me?” 

“Because you’ve been a good friend to him. He cares about you. You’re kind of like a sister to him.” She then puts her hand on my shoulder “I know that you’re still mad at me, but please understand that I never meant to hurt you. You know, Henry was the one who made me come back. And you were one of the reasons I came back.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Henry was telling me that we couldn’t leave our family behind and he included you. He said that I made a promise to you and that we couldn’t just leave you and everyone else behind. And he was right.” She finishes sincerely, and I can’t help the few tears that slip down my cheeks. 

“I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it.” I replied.

“No, you were right. But I’m here now, and we are going to save Henry. But until we do, please stay here and be with him?” 

“Okay, I’ll stay here.” She squeezed my shoulder and wrapped me in a quick hug before following Regina out. I sit there for a minute, prepping myself before entering the room. What I saw almost made me sick. Henry laid in the hospital bed, all wrapped up in blankets and hooked to machines. He looked dead. Nothing like the lively kid he usually was. I walked gently over his bedside and sat down in the chair next to him. “Hey, Henry,” I say softly after the silence gets to be too much “It's Meagan. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m here. I know about the curse now, and I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry I didn’t believe you. I was too wrapped up in my own problems to really listen. But I believe now, and we are going to break this curse. So don’t die okay? Cause it would really suck if our last conversation was that.” It's at that moment that I realize that maybe Emma was right. Maybe I was sort of like a big sister to him. And that was okay with me. I would sit here for as long as it takes to make sure he was okay. 

…

I had been there for a couple hours, just keeping vigil, when Mary-Margaret showed up. 

“I figured I would come and see if he needed some company,” she explains when she arrives “How’s he doing?” 

“I don’t know. He’s just been unconscious the whole time. Hasn’t moved at all.” I replied, noticing that she has something tucked under her arm “What’s that?” 

“Oh, this?” She uncovers to reveal Henry’s storybook “I thought maybe reading some to him would help, maybe get him to wake up.” 

“I think that’s a great idea.” I get up from the chair to let her sit there and make my way over to the couch on the side of the room. She sits down and opens the book to start reading.

“I’m reading him Snow White, I thought he would find that funny,” she says absentmindedly, flipping to that page and starting to read, her voice clear as day. And now that I know about the curse, I do have to admit I find that ironic. I listen in as she reads him the tale, her voice mesmerizing me. She had a very storyteller-like voice. She kept me entranced until the last word. “Henry,” she sighs when she finishes the story, closing the book gently “When I gave you this book it was because I knew... I know life doesn't always have a happy end. But I thought…” Suddenly the machines start going wild, beeping erratically. “What is it? Dr.Whale!” She calls frantically. Dr.Whale and a bunch of nurses rush inside. 

“What’s going on?” I ask, but no one answers me “What’s happening?” _Please don’t die, oh my god don’t die._

“Get them out of here!” Dr.Whale yells to a nurse who essentially pushes us outside. I hear “We’re losing him!” before the door shuts behind us. Mary-Margaret wraps her arms around me and we stand there embracing for an excruciatingly long period of time. We’re still in that position when Emma and Regina come rushing in. 

“What’s going on?” Emma asks fearfully glancing between us and the door. Suddenly it opens and Dr.Whale comes out, looking heartbroken. Something I never thought he could look. _Oh no_

“I’m sorry, you’re too late. We lost him.” He forces out painfully and suddenly I can’t feel anything. _No, no, no, no,no. He can’t die. Not like this._ I can feel tears start running down my face and I try to hold in my sobs. 

“No!” I hear Regina wail, and for the first time I actually feel sorry for her. She rushes into the hospital room and we all follow her. And it’s true. Henry is gone. He’s lying dead on the bed as they unhook him from the machines. “No!” Regina wails once again and starts to cry into Dr.Whale’s shoulder. I start to back away towards the side of the room. I didn’t want to look at it anymore. _How can this be happening? He didn’t deserve this._ I see Emma cross the room towards his bed, tears streaming down her face. 

“I love you, Henry,” she whispers and kisses him lightly on the forehead. And suddenly, something magical happens. As soon as her lips touch his forehead, a blast radiates out from the pair of them. A blast that hits me square in the chest and sends me stumbling backwards a little. And Henry wakes up. 

“I love you too, you saved me.” I can hear him say. But before I can even be happy that he’s alive, I feel something break inside my head. And everything comes rushing back at me in full force. My memories come flooding in. And I remember who I am. I am Meagan Jones, the daughter of Killian Jones, or as he is more well known as- feared pirate Captain Hook. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay we hit the end of season one! The curse is broken! Hint: Next chapter we get some Killian and Meagan flashbacks!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy belated Valentine’s Day. This was supposed to be posted yesterday as a gift, but I didn’t finish it in time. It ended up taking a little longer then I thought to write, but here it is! Hope you enjoy and I’ll try to update again soon.

I was the best thing to happen in my father’s life. At least that’s what he’s told me ever since I was born. I was his shining gem, his pearl. The name Meagan even means pearl, that’s why he gave it to me. Because I was his little pearl.

How I came into my father’s life is an...interesting story. One he doesn’t like to talk about. He told the story to me when I was old enough, and never mentioned it again. And I could see why. 

It happened by accident. My father and his crew had docked at a harbor for a night and he had gone to a tavern. It was there that he had met a beautiful woman. They spent one wonderful night together and then that was it-or so he thought. When they had returned to that harbor a couple months later, she found him again and told him that she was pregnant. She begged him to be there for the birth, and he agreed, returning once again to be there when she gave birth. And then I was born. And immediately, as soon as I was born, my birth-giver (I wouldn’t call her my mother, I’ve never met her. She’s no mother) said that she didn’t want me-in fact she never wanted a child. So, she ran. At first my father was confused and didn’t know what to do, but according to him, as soon I was placed in his arms, as soon as he laid eyes on me, he knew he loved me. He vowed from that moment on to protect me. His daughter, Meagan, his pearl. 

People (his crew mostly) said that he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t be a pirate and raise a child. But he proved them wrong. He somehow managed to be a great pirate and a great father. Sure, my childhood wasn’t ‘normal’, having spent a lot of it on a ship, but I didn’t mind. For the most part I was happy. His crew grew quite fond of me over time, and taught me a lot of things. And ever since I was little, I’ve been learning how to swordfight. My father wanted to make sure I knew how to defend myself. 

“There are a lot of horrible people out there, love. And if there should ever come a time where I can’t protect you, I’ll feel much better if I know you can protect yourself.” He had said to me once, and I’ve always remembered it. 

My father never hid what he did from me-at least so I thought. He was always honest about the kind of a person he was. He’s always said “I’m not a great person, love, and I’m okay with that. I hope one day you’ll be able to understand why, and become a better person than I’ll ever be.” To me he was wrong. I knew that he didn’t always do the right thing, and that he had done some horrible things, but I knew he was better, that he could be better. I saw the person he truly was when he was just with me, and I knew that he could be that person. He just had to get over his quest for revenge, and turn his life around. I knew he was capable of it, he just had to believe it himself. 

When others ask me what it’s like being a pirate's daughter, I really don’t know what to tell them. I don’t know any other life so there’s nothing to compare it to. All I know is that I was happy,I am happy. Or I was until neverland. But that’s a story for another time. My father and I both hate neverland, for very good reasons. 

One of my favorite memories of my father and I is the time the two of us took a fishing boat and just rowed out into the middle of the sea. We were throwing nets into the water to catch fish and in one of the nets we pulled up an oyster. I didn’t know at the time why it was so important, but my father was amazed by what we found. He made a big show of trying to open it and when he got it open, a beautiful shiny circle object shone up at me. 

“What’s that?” I had asked, my eyes wide with a 6 year old’s curiosity. 

“This is a pearl. They’re rare to find in oysters.” 

“A pearl! Like me!” I had exclaimed very excitedly. 

“Exactly, just like you. A rare and beautiful little pearl.” He had kissed me gently on the forehead and had then ripped a cord from the net, tying it around the pearl and then knotting it at the top. “A pearl for my pearl.” He had said, placing the newly made necklace around my neck. That necklace became my prised possession, I never took it off. At least until the curse took it from me. The curse that separated me from my father. 

_“Father?” I called out, wandering deeper into the forest, growing more concerned with every minute. My father had said that he’d be gone for a few hours at most-and I hadn’t seen him since yesterday. “Father!” I didn’t know why, but this forest was giving me the creeps, I could feel that something wasn’t right. It was silent-but almost too silent. The trees didn’t even seem to rustle. As I ventured carefully on, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I whipped around-but nothing was there. I heard a tree root snap behind and jumped, trying to turn around, but ending up tripping and falling in the process. “Ughhh,” I groaned, rolling over to face the sky, only to meet the face of my father._

_“Are you alright, love?” He reaches his hand down to me, a concerned tone in his voice “What are you doing out here?”_

_“What am_ _I_ _doing out here?” I take his arm and let him help me up, where I proceed to smack his arm “You said you were only to be gone a few hours! It’s been a day! I was worried.”_

_“You don’t need to worry about me, love, I’m a survivor, remember?” He puts his hand gently on my shoulder “I didn’t mean to be gone so long, there was just some business I had to take care of.”_

_“What business?”_

_“Why, Captain, whatever could you be doing?” A voice called from behind us. When I turned around I saw a woman standing there, in a long regal looking gown, a vaguely irritated expression on her face._

_“And who is she, father?” I asked, whirling on him, confused by the sudden turn of events._

_“Father?” The woman echoed “Captain, you never mentioned you had a daughter.” She cooed, seeming positively pleased by that revelation. And I knew immediately that I did not like that woman one bit. And neither did my father it seemed. He glares behind my back at her, eyes narrowing protectively._

_“I’ll be with you in a moment, Cora,” he says, adding a snarl when he says her name. I don’t know if it was just the way he said it, but that name-Cora-sounded evil. My instincts were telling me so. And according to my father, I had pretty good instincts. My father then takes me by the shoulders and leads me a little further into the forest, out of earshot of that woman._

_“Seriously, father, what’s going on? Who is she?” I ask as soon as we’re in the clear. He’s seemed to be acting different, as though he didn’t want me to know._

_“Her name is Cora. She’s who I was doing business with.”_

_“What kind of business?” He goes silent for a minute, seeming to contemplate what he’s going to say. He ends up sighing and looking me right in the eye as he speaks._

_“I can’t seem to lie to you, love. Cora is a sorceress who I’ve made a deal with.”_

_“What! Seriously-a deal?! Father, you know what happened the last time you made a deal!”_

_“Yes I am aware of that. It is, after all, what I’m known as.” He waves his hook in the air as if to make a point._

_“Then why would you go and make another deal!? Especially with a magic-user!” I whisper-shout, growing even more frustrated. I couldn’t stand to see my father open himself up to getting hurt again._

_“You don’t understand, I’m doing this for us.” He insists, gripping my shoulder and making me look him in the eye “Something terrible is coming.”_

_“What’s coming? What are you talking about?” He’s afraid, I discovered looking into his eyes. But what could he be afraid of?_

_“A curse. The queen is going to cast a terrible curse, to a land without magic that will erase our memories and separate us.”_

_“How do you-how do you know that?”_

_“Well-uh-the queen may have told me herself.” He replies sheepishly._

_“What? Why would she tell you? Why were you with her?” I ask persistently._

_“I may have made a deal with her before turning around and making a deal with Cora against her.”_

_“Why-why would you make a deal with the evil queen…” it was then the epiphany hit me “This is about your revenge quest isn’t it?” He doesn’t respond to that, but I know, I know my father, and I know that I’m correct. “I can’t believe this. You always do this! You go on your stupid quest for revenge and get into something bad. Why can’t you get over this? I’m sorry that she’s dead, I really am. But getting revenge isn’t going to bring her back! And if you keep going down this path, it’s going to end badly. Especially conspiring with the evil queen.”_

_“Love, I’m not conspiring with the evil queen-at least not anymore. Now I’m working with Cora. Believe me, I don’t really want to. But she can protect us from the curse.”_

_“How?”_

_“I’m not quite sure on the details of how, all I know is that she can protect us and has offered to. I don’t want us to be separated. So trust me.”_

_“It’s not you I don’t trust-it’s her.” I jerked my head in the direction of that woman “How can you agree to this not knowing what she might do? We can’t risk this. You told me to always trust my instincts. Well my instincts are saying that she’s evil.”_

_“I know, but this is a risk we can’t afford. I won’t be separated from you. Especially after everything that’s happened.” I squeezed my eyes shut tight, the memories flooding back. He had to bring it up didn’t he. I knew what he was saying, I didn’t want that ether, yet I just couldn’t bring myself to agree._

_“I know, father, I don’t want us to be separated either, but what will teaming up with her cost us? I don’t want to do it this way.”_

_“I’m afraid we don’t really have much choice in this matter.” He replies “I’m not going to let us be swept up by this curse. We’re going to do this, pearl”_

_“No, you’re doing this,” I swipe his hand off my shoulder “I am not doing this with you. I don’t want any part of whatever price you’re going to have to pay.” I shoved him away and started to run._

_“Pearl!” I heard him calling after me, but I didn’t stop._

That was the last time I had seen my father before the curse. I had gone back to the ship just in time to see purple fog rolling in the distance. And then I was in Storybrooke. I wish now that I had just gone with him, just ignored my instincts. Because then at least we would’ve been together, at least I wouldn’t have been abused by some random dude who was cursed to be my fake dad. A man whose name I didn’t even know, had caused me so much pain. And sure, I was mad at my father for going with her, for not following me-but after so many years of being treated with hate, it made me appreciate how much my father had loved me. And I missed him even more. 

“Meagan?” A timid voice interrupted my thoughts and I lifted my head to see Henry and the others looking at me with concern “Are you okay?” He asks. Now that was a complicated question. 

“I-I just-I remember.” I stuttered out, still in shock from all the memories flooding back “I remember who I am.” 

“No,” Regina utters, surprise written all over her face. I can’t help but smile at her loss. 

“Henry-what’s going on?” Emma asks. 

“The curse-I think you broke it!” He exclaims, and I regret ever doubting him. _I can’t believe Emma really did it! She freed us. She’s got a lot of courage-I think father would like her a lot._

“That was true love’s kiss.” A woman who I had just noticed was in the room said. 

“No! No!” Regina yells, frustration seeping through her voice.

“I would leave if I were you, your majesty, find a place to hide.” Regina seemed to quickly contemplate her options, before settling for going to Henry’s bedside. 

“Henry, no matter what you think, no matter what anyone tells you, I do love you.” She disappears in a cloud of smoke after that. But what’s crazy, is that she actually seemed genuine. 

“Wait, so if the curse is broken, why didn’t anyone go back?” Emma asks, posing a very good question. Why weren’t we sent back to the enchanted forest? We didn’t have time to think on that much, before something caught our eye in the distance. A cloud of purple smoke, almost exactly like the one that cursed us was heading our way, just over the horizon. 

“What do we do?” One the nurses asked frantically, but no one seems to have an answer. Emma settles for hugging Henry close to her and I close my eyes, awaiting the inevitable. 

But, nothing happens? I open my eyes after a few moments to see that the cloud of smoke is gone and we’re all still here. _So what the hell did that do then?_

“Mom, everyone remembers! We have to find our family!” Henry exclaims, throwing the sheets off and eagerly getting out of the hospital bed. 

“Henry, be careful! You almost died!” Emma chides, going over to help him. 

“I feel fine, mom. We have to go find them, c’mon!” He tugs on his clothes over his gown and grabs Emma's hand, proceeding to drag her out of there. And now,I’m all alone. “Uh, Meagan, you coming?” His head pops back in the doorway a second later. 

“Oh-uh-you want me to?” I asked softly, confused.

“Yeah, of course.” He scoffs as if I was being ridiculous and motions for me to follow him, so I do. We walk out of the hospital and through the town, seeing dozens of people being reunited with their loved ones. A pit grows in my stomach as I see people lovingly embracing one another. I wish I could lovingly embrace my father, but I had no idea where he was. It only got worse when I saw Emma reunite with her parents-Snow and Charming. While I was truly happy for her and Henry-a part of me couldn’t help but be jealous. 

“She did it-she saved you.” I can hear Henry say, hugging his grandparents tightly. 

“She saved us all.” Mary-Margaret replies, smiling at Emma just like a proud parent. _My father would smile at me like that._

“Then why are we still here?” I heard Leroy ask angrily from behind me. He was always angry. 

“That, my friend, is an excellent question.” David replied. The rest of the dwarves come over and start piping up, asking where the smoke came from and why and how-all these questions. 

“It was magic.” Someone spoke up, but I wasn’t quite sure who “it’s here, I can feel it.” 

“Magic? In storybrooke?” Henry asks in awe “But You’re the blue fairy, do something magical.” Ah, so that’s who she is.

“It's not quite that simple, Henry. No wand. No Fairy Dust. Matters are complicated now.” She sighs regretfully. 

“Let's go to the person responsible for bringing it, the Queen.” Leroy snarls, several people agreeing with him as they start to make their way down the street. I can’t say I disagree with him. 

“Wait, it wasn’t Regina!” Emma calls after them, but it seems to be no use. She sighs and we all make to follow the crowd going to storm the mayor's house. Emma walks upfront with her parents, while Henry hangs in the back with me. 

“So, now that you have your memories back, are you going to find your dad?” He asks curiously, and I’m confused at first-before I remember that Henry knows who I am from his storybook. 

“I want to, but honestly I don’t know if I can. I have no idea where he is. I haven’t seen him anywhere around town.” I replied, folding my arms across my chest uncomfortably. 

“Wait-so the guy I arrested wasn’t your real dad?” Emma turns her head to me, having overheard our conversation. 

“No-I have no idea who he actually is. I guess when the curse hit it just threw us together.” I shrugged. 

“So, who is your real dad?” I sighed at her question, and prayed that she wouldn’t judge what she heard. She didn’t know the real story. 

“My father is Killian Jones-or I guess you would know him as Captain Hook.” Emma’s eyes widen at that. 

“Captain Hook? Like from Peter Pan? With the hook for the hand, mustache and red clothes?” 

“He’s a bit different from that.” I snorted, imagining what my father would say at being compared to that animated nightmare. 

“So isn’t your dad technically the bad guy?” Emma remarks questiongly, and even though I suspected I’d get that question-it still made me angry. 

“The stories you’ve heard aren’t the truth.” I bite back “My father is not a bad guy, sure he’s done bad things, but that doesn’t make him a bad person! He’s human-just like all of you-and he’s my father, a really great father. You don’t know anything about him.” I looked away from her as I pushed back the tears welling up. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. You’re right, I don’t know.” Emma replies quietly. 

“There you are!” A shout interrupts our conversation and I see Archie come up to the group of us “Come with me, I need your help. Dr. Whale's whipped everyone into a frenzy. They're going to Regina's house. They're gonna kill her!” 

“Great, let’s watch.” Leroy replies. 

“No. No, we cannot stoop to her level. No matter who she is or what she's done, killing her is wrong.” 

“He’s right. She’s still my mom.” Henry says, giving Emma a pleading look. 

“We have to stop them.” Emma states. 

“If the Blue Fairy is right and magic is here, Regina could have her powers back. They could be marching into a slaughter.” David motions for us all to follow him as we make our way towards the mayor's house. When we get there, we see a mob of citizens surrounding the front door, and Dr.Whale has Regina pushed up against the door, hands on her throat. It’s utter chaos. 

“Let her go!” Emma shouts in a commanding voice, pushing through the crowd and grabbing Whale’s arm to stop him. Everyone started shouting at once, arguing about “why should we listen to you”, “we're not murderers!”, and “what should we do?”. In the end, a compromise was made that Regina would be locked up in jail for the time being. So-Emma, Mary-Margaret, David, Henry, and I took Regina to the station. 

“So, I’m a prisoner now?” Regina hisses as David locks her in the cell. 

“If the curse is broken-why didn’t we go back?” He asks. 

“Because there is nothing to go back to, that world’s gone.” _WHAT? No, no, no…_

“No! That can’t be true!” I spit out, pushing myself towards the front of the cell “You better be mistaken or I swear…” 

“And who exactly do you think you are talking to me like that?” She scoffs, and I see Emma step up to say something, but I motion for her to stop. 

“I’m the daughter of Captain Hook,” I snarled, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise “And your curse separated us, I have no idea where he is. But there’s a good chance that he's still in the enchanted forest, so you better pray that there’s a way for us to be reunited. Because I haven’t forgotten what you put me through.” 

“And what exactly have I put you through?” 

“Don’t act like you don’t know!” I say angrily, clenching my fists “Your stupid curse made my life hell! I was abused by some random man you made my fake father!” 

“How could you do that, Regina?” Emma asks, shaking her head in disgust “You claim to care about Henry, yet you put another child through that?” 

“Hang on-I didn’t do that. I didn’t even know about that.” Regina replies. 

“How could you not know? It was your curse?” Regina doesn’t respond to that for a minute, a perplexed look on her face. Then suddenly, a realization dawns on her. 

“Rumplestilskin…” she mutters. 

“What does he have to do with this?” 

“He was the one that gave me the curse. And when he gave it to me, he said he added a little something of his own to it-and I didn’t think much of it at the time because I was just grateful to have it. But I guess we know what he added to it.” And suddenly, it all made sense. Of course it was Rumplestilskin. 

“Why would he do that? What does Rumplestilskin have against a 12 year old?” Emma asks, clearly taken aback. 

“He hates my father.” I jumped in, everyone turning to stare at me “He and my father are mortal enemies. He’ll do anything to hurt my father, and he knows the best way to do it is to hurt me.” 

“That’s-that’s horrible” Mary-Margaret gasps, horrified “I can’t believe he did that to you.” 

“Honestly I can’t say I’m surprised,” I sighed. And it’s true. I knew of my father and Rumplestilskin’s complicated past-and just how evil the dark one could be. 

“Well-what do we do now?” David asks “since we can’t go to Rumple for help now.” 

“We might not have a choice.” Emma grimaced. 

“What? Emma you can’t possibly...you heard what Meagan said!” Mary-Margaret exclaims. 

“I don’t like it anymore then you do-but don’t you remember? Everything that came over with the curse ended up in his shop. He might have something we need.” I stopped listening after that as a realization came over me. _If everything that came over ended up in his shop...could my necklace be there? I was wearing it when the curse hit…_ As they continued arguing, I managed to quietly slip out; my mind on a mission. And to Rumple’s shop I went. When I got there, I could feel my anger and nerves catching up with me, and pushed them down. I couldn’t get emotional, I had to stand my ground. 

“Rumplestiltskin!” I yelled as I barged into his shop, the door slamming shut behind me. He would know I was here, he would come and talk to me whether he liked it or not. He owed me that much. 

“Well if it isn’t Meagan Jones. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Rumple asks sarcastically, coming to the front counter. I march right up to the counter and slam my hands down on it, leaning in towards him. 

“I think you know why I’m here. I want my necklace. Where is it?” 

“Why, whatever are you talking about Miss Jones?” He questions, feigning ignorance and I glare at him. _How dare he pretend like he knows nothing about this_. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. My necklace, the one with the pearl that my father gave me. I know you have it. I was wearing it when the curse hit and everything important that came over with the curse ended up here. And you are going to give it to me.” I demand, getting right up in his face. I didn’t care. I wasn’t scared of him. 

“And why would I do that Miss Jones?” 

“Because-I know it was you who designed my life here to be hell. I know it was you who made me go through 28 years of pain and suffering. You owe me after all the hell you made me go through. And I think giving me back the necklace is a good start.” 

“I think you're mistaken Miss Jones,” Rumple laughs, “I owe you nothing. I make deals. Deals where someone owes someone else. But you and I never made a deal. So I don’t owe you anything.” 

“You’ll be sorry when my father and I are reunited and he hears what you did to me.” I muttered, clutching the counter so hard I thought it might break. 

“If you are ever reunited-“ Rumple hums and I whip my head up at him. He sees my expression and once again laughs “Oh, dearie, you are foolish. Your dear old pirate father is still in the enchanted forest. He has no idea where you are or how to even get here. So I don’t think that the pirate and his little lost girl are going to be reunited anytime soon.” He says that last sentence so mockingly that I almost throttle him right then and there. Thankfully my inner voice stops me. _Don’t do it, Meagan. Calm down. You have no idea how powerful he is_. I start breathing in and out trying to calm myself down, before speaking. 

“You know what? Fine. You say you don’t owe me anything-then how about we make a deal?” He looks intrigued at the prospect so I continue “You give me what I’m asking for, and I won’t tell Belle about what you did.” 

“What?” He asks, emphasizing the word menacingly. 

“Belle. You know Belle, the woman you supposedly love.” I found it hard to believe that he could love anyone “You just got her back right? You wouldn’t want to lose her again. And I’m sure she wouldn’t be happy to hear about you putting an innocent 12 year old girl in harm's way-now would she?” 

“Why you little-“ he growls “You wouldn’t dare.” 

“And why not? Here’s the news Rumplestiltskin, or the Dark one, or Mr. Gold-whatever you’re calling yourself these days.” I lean towards him and whisper “I’m not scared of you. I’ve been getting abused for 28 years, I’m not scared of getting hurt anymore. Plus you can’t kill me, I’m just a child. You wouldn’t kill a child, would you? So I will eventually get to talk to Belle, no matter how hard you try to stop me. And who do you think she’ll believe? The man who's been known in the past to hurt people? Or the 12 year old girl with scars she shouldn’t have?” I can tell that I’m getting on his nerves, that he knows I’m right “So here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to give me the necklace and I will keep my trap shut.” I put my hand out expectantly. He glares at me, but walks towards the back room. I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Oh my god, oh my god, I can’t believe that worked. Holy shit. He comes staggering back into the room and opens his hand, dropping what’s in it into my waiting one. A shiny pearl glints up at me from a black cord chain. A lump grows in my throat and suddenly I miss my father even more. “Pleasure doing business.” I say, and start to walk away, hoping I can make it out before my emotions get the better of me. 

“You are so much like your father, Miss Jones.” He comments, and I know that he means it as an insult. I whirl around and stare him right in the eye. 

“Yep. And proud of it.” I fired back before marching out, the pearl necklace clutched tightly in my hand. When I got far enough away, I started breathing far more heavily, not quite believing that I had just done that. I had just marched into the territory of someone who probably wanted to kill me, and not only got out unscathed, but got out with what I wanted. It almost seemed like a miracle. 

“There you are!” A voice called, and I looked up to see Mary-Margaret and the others coming towards me “We were worried about you-where did you run off to?” 

“I-I was talking to Rumplestilskin.” 

“What!? Meagan-he could’ve hurt you! Why would you do that?” 

“There was something I needed from him okay? I’m fine, nothing happened, so can we drop it?” I snapped defensively. Well I appreciated their concern, I wasn’t some helpless child. 

“Alright. We’re just glad you’re okay.” Mary-Margaret replies. 

“What are you guys doing here anyway?” 

“We’re actually here to talk to Rumple as well,” Emma says “Henry’s back at the diner with Ruby-why don’t you go meet them there?” Knowing that going back into Rumple’s shop would probably be a bad idea-I agreed-and walked over to Granny’s. It was there I spotted Henry and Ruby in a booth, and went over to meet them. 

“Meagan!” Ruby exclaims, jumping up and rushing over to wrap me in a hug “I haven’t seen you since before the curse was broken-I wasn’t sure if you were okay-and I’m so glad that you are!” 

“You are?” 

“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?” She asks, confused. 

“I don’t know if the curse breaking changed anything or not now that we remember everything.” I replied, speaking fears that had weighed deep in my mind. 

“Of course it doesn’t! Our past memories don’t change the last 28 years. You’re still my friend.” She smiles and throws an arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the booth. 

“Hey, Henry,” I say as I slide into the booth across from him “How are you doing?” 

“I’m not sure,” he sighs “I’m glad the curse is broken, but I guess I thought that everything would be fixed-but it’s not. And I’m not sure what to do.” _Jeez the sure carries a lot he doesn’t have to._

“I understand what you’re feeling, believe me,” I clutch my necklace in my hand “There’s still a lot we have to fix, but it’s not up to you, Henry. There’s a lot of people working on this, and we’ll all do it together.” Henry smiles at me, and we sit there in silence for a few moments as I play with my necklace. 

“What’s that?” He asks suddenly, pointing to it. 

“It’s a necklace,” I open my palm to show it to him “It’s the one thing I have from my father. It’s a pearl, just like me.” 

“That’s really sweet,” Ruby says, a gentle smile gracing her face. 

“He seems like a good dad, you must miss him a lot. I hope you find him.” Henry replies sweetly, almost bringing tears to my eyes-again. 

“Me too.” I whisper, draping the necklace over my head and letting it fall against my chest, the weight comforting to me. We sit there for a while, just talking about random things, trying not to worry about what everyone else could be up to. Then, suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a large cloud of smoke shoot up into the sky from the town hall. “What the hell is that?” I pointed to the cloud and got up quickly, making my way towards the town hall with Henry and Ruby following close behind. As we rush towards it, the cloud of smoke disappears-making the situation even weirder. We burst through the doors to see only David and Regina. Emma and Mary-Margaret aren’t in sight. 

“Mom?” Henry calls, running over to Regina. 

“Henry, what are you doing here?” 

“What are you doing?” 

“It’s okay,” she assures, walking over to him “you’re safe now.” 

“Where’s my mom?”

“They're gone. They fell through a portal.” She replies. _No. No, that can’t be true! How can they be-how are they just gone?_ “Henry, I’m sorry.” 

“No, you’re not.” He mutters, stepping away from her “You really are the evil queen. I don’t ever want to see you again.” 

“No, don’t say that. I love you.” 

“Then, prove it. Get Emma and Mary Margaret back. And until then, leave me, leave everyone alone.” He exclaims and walks over to where David and I are standing. 

“Where will you go?” Regina asks in disarray. 

“With me.” David says with a fierceness that I hadn’t heard before. He gently takes Henry by the shoulder and leads him out. I make to follow them-but doubts run through my head. _Emma and Mary-Margaret are gone. They’re gone! And they’re the ones that let me live with them, that took care of me. Will David let me stay? He doesn’t even know me._

“Meagan.” I heard someone’s voice interrupt my thoughts and see David looking at me with worry “You alright?” 

“Oh-yeah.” 

“Are you alright coming home with us?” He asks gently. _What?_

“I-I can?” 

“If you want to. Emma and Mary-Margaret invited you to live with them, promised to help you, and I don’t plan to break that promise. They’d want you to be safe with us.” I nod, unable to speak. And we walk back to the loft. 

“Don’t worry, guys.” David says once we’ve entered the loft “Emma and Mary-Margaret are still alive.” 

“How do you know?” Henry looks more upset than I’ve ever seen him. 

“I have faith.” 

“But-..”

“Henry,” David kneels in front of us “I will find them. I will always find them.” And I believe him. We have no idea where that portal leads to, or how we’re going to get them back, but we’re going to find a way. And maybe whatever happened to them could be the key to finding my father. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there we go! We started getting into season 2 territory. This is my first time writing Killian, so I hope I got his character down. I wanted to show how even though he still made the mistakes he did, he’s still a good father. I hope you like the little tidbits of their relationship you got. Anyway thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and please comment if you did! Comments feed my soul. Now, I'm not sure how much of season 1 I'm going to include in this fic. Since Killian isn't in season 1, and it's mostly about Emma and Henry, there's not many opportunities for my character on that front. I'll probably include some episodes, but I'll skip around some as well, so we can get to cute Dad Killian sooner. I will try to update as much as I can, but college is hard, so please be patient with me.


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